Hong Kong airport
According to the airport authority Hong Kong’s air cargo traffic dropped nearly 20% year-on-year in February as overseas demand for Chinese goods continued to shrink, according to the airport authority.
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) said it handled 198,000 tonnes of cargo in February, 19.7% less than the same month last year, as the global economic downturn took its toll.
AFP said that February’s fall was despite this year’s Chinese New Year celebrations falling earlier than in 2008, which meant that manufacturing activities in China had resumed.
HKIA also reported a 13.7% fall in passenger volume to 3.4 million.
The city’s air cargo volume has seen double-digit year-on-year declines in recent months as the US, Europe and other major buyers of Chinese manufactured goods cut their orders after being badly hit by the financial crisis.
‘It is unlikely that this downward trend (in cargo traffic volume) will reverse in the short term when the world’s major economies remain in recession,’ said Stanley Hui, chief executive officer of HKIA, in a statement.
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