Hong Kong International Airport saw a 7 percent increase in passenger throughput in May from a year earlier, to 3.5 million, aided by a surge of Chinese mainland visitors during the Labor Day golden week.

Boosted by the busy traffic, aircraft movements grew 7.4 percent year-on-year, to 23,260 flights over the month, according to a government press release on Sunday.

May also saw a steady growth of cargo throughput to 283,000 tons, representing 4.5 percent increase compared to the same month last year.

Airport Authority Hong Kong Airport Management Director Howard Eng said the passenger volume from January to May reached 17.7 million -- a double-digit increase from a year earlier.

The continuous growth in passenger traffic was mainly driven by the steady growth of visitors from the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Chinese mainland.

"As summer holidays are approaching, we remain positive about passenger traffic," he added.

Passenger throughput for the past 12 months increased 8.4 percent to 42.3 million while cargo volume reached 3.5 million tons, up 8.9 percent from a year earlier. Aircraft movements increased 11.3 percent to 274,000 flights.

Source: Xinhua