A total of 872 flight movements were handled at the Hong Kong
International Airport on February 16, which set a new daily record,
a spokesman for Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department said
yesterday.
The 872 flight movements exceeded the daily average of 780
movements by 11.8 percent, breaking the previous single-day record
of 870 flight movements on April 14, 2006. There were also 500
flight movements operated through the Hong Kong Flight Information
Region on February 16, exceeding the daily average of 406 movements
by 23 percent, the spokesman said.
During this Chinese lunar New Year holiday period, most of the
extra flights operated by airlines were to destinations on the
Chinese mainland, and in Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. Taipei
was the most popular destination, followed by Guilin in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Bangkok,
the capital of Thailand.
Buoyed by the robust economy in the region, the increase in
flight movements was attributed to the heavy travel demand during
the Spring Festival holiday. A strong growth was
also registered in the air traffic operating to and from Hong Kong
and through the Hong Kong Flight Information Region.
Last year 280,492 aircraft movements were handled at the Hong
Kong International Airport and the overflight traffic hit a record
of 139,714 movements. They represented an annual increase of 6.4
percent and 11.2 percent respectively.
"The Civil Aviation Department is encouraged by this new record.
The steady growth in air traffic will strengthen Hong Kong's status
as an international and regional aviation hub," the spokesman
said.
"As always, our Air Traffic Control staff will continue to
strive to provide a safe and efficient service to the air traveling
public," he added.
(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2007)