Maritime





Monday May 18, 2009

Air-cargo traffic in Hong Kong drops 20%


HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s air-cargo traffic dropped almost 20% year-on-year in April due to the global slowdown, the city’s airport authority said on Sunday.

The Hong Kong International Airport said in a statement that it handled 257,000 tonnes of cargo in April, down 19.8% from April 2008.

The contraction in cargo traffic was most prominent in exports, recording a 27% year-on-year drop as cargo volumes to all major overseas markets experienced a decline.

Import also shrank 16% year-on-year, with cargo volumes from South-East Asia and Japan decreasing the most.

Cargo volume has seen a consistent drop of about 20% over the last three months, after falling nearly 30% in December and January.

“Cargo throughput remains the hardest hit in comparison to passenger volume and aircraft movements, reflecting the continued weakening of global trade and consumption,” airport authority chief executive Stanley Hui said.

Hui added that the aviation industry worldwide had yet to show signs of recovery as the gloomy economic outlook and the outbreak of swine flu dampened travel demand. – AFP

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