Fluctuations in the global economy and weakened business confidence have not slowed down airfreight growth, as cargo throughput continued its momentum after the 2014 rebound, according to Airports Council International (ACI).
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), for one, said it saw a cargo surge in the first two months of the year.
Overall global volumes increased by 3% in January, with most regions experiencing gains except for Europe.
Moreover, global passenger traffic started the year strong with year-on-year growth of 4.5% in January. This comes after a rise of over 5% in passenger traffic for 2014 as a whole.
All regions reported gains, with most of the buoyant activity in passenger traffic stemming from double-digit growth rates in the Middle East with gains of 11% in passenger traffic in January.
HKIA gets busy
At HKIA, air cargo throughput registered growth of 10.3% to 659,000 tonnes during the first two months of the year.
Robust growth was also seen in other traffic categories during the period, including passenger volume, which rose by 7.5% year-on-year to over 10.6 million, and flight movements, which climbed by 5.1% to 64,580.
The combined growth of cargo throughput for the first two months was mainly attributed to a 12% year-on-year growth in exports and 10% growth in transshipments. Traffic to and from North America and Southeast Asia increased most significantly compared to other key regions.
“Taking into consideration the fact that Chinese New Year fell in different calendar months in 2014 and 2015, the combined traffic figures for the first two months of the year provide a more realistic comparison with last year’s performance,” said HKIA in a statement.
The combined growth of passenger volume at HKIA in January and February was mainly driven by a 16% year-on-year growth in transfer/transit traffic and 8% year-on-year growth in Hong Kong resident traffic. Passenger traffic to and from Southeast Asia and North Asia recorded the most significant increases.
In February alone, cargo throughput saw sharp growth to 303,000 tonnes, up 22.6% compared to the same month last year. HKIA also handled 5.4 million passengers and 31,195 flight movements during the month, representing year-on-year increases of 13.6% and 8.5%, respectively.
On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger traffic at HKIA increased by 5.9% to 64.1 million, flight movements rose 4.9% to 394,100, and cargo volume increased 7.2% to 4.4 million tonnes year-on-year.
Despite the positive figures, ACI World Economics Director Rafael Echevarne said this may not be a long-term development.
Echevarne added, “While there is an improvement in economic conditions in the United States, weakness lingers on in Russia, the Euro area and Japan. Capital investment growth and prospects in China have also become subdued. Despite the existing perseverance in international trade volumes, particularly for a portion of 2014, weakness in these major economies may translate into bad news for the air freight market in the coming months, particularly at the major freight hubs. Thus, we should continue to monitor the on-going growth in airfreight with cautious optimism.”
Photo: Hmn 1988
