Boosted by the robust growth of air traffic, cargo throughput at Hong Kong International Airport ( HKIA) reached 225,000 cargo tonnages in February, representing an increase of 10 percent over the same period last year, the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) said Sunday.

Passenger throughput reached 3.27 million in February, up 5.5 percent over last year. February 2005 was a peak month owing to the extra traffic generated by the Chinese New Year holiday, which partly accounted for the relatively lower passenger growth rate of this February.

Amounting to 20,685, aircraft movements also rose 8.1 percent on a year-on-year basis.

"The outlook for the first half of 2006 remains positive. We are confident in having continuos growth in all traffic categories, " Commercial Director of AAHK Hans Bakker said.

To strengthen the international and regional hub position of HKIA, AAHK will host the Air Cargo Forum 2006 in late March to explore the key issues and challenges faced by the air cargo industry, Bakker added.

In the rolling 12-month period, passenger and air cargo throughputs reached 41.39 million and 3.4 million tons, increasing by 9.5 percent and 10.3 percent year-on-year respectively. The aircraft movements grew 11.5 percent, amounting to 267,900, according to AAHK statistics.

Source: Xinhua