Airport Statistics Updated November 2026

Human Written & Fact Checked · Updated

148 Hong Kong Airport Statistics for 2026

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 60.956 million passengers in 2025 on the Airport Authority Hong Kong's (AAHK) finalised count, and it was the world's busiest cargo airport on ACI World's ranking for the year. Passenger numbers have kept growing in 2026, but they are still below the 74.672 million of 2018, the busiest year in AAHK's sheets.

This page brings together the main figures on HKIA: passengers each year, the 2019 disruption and the pandemic, traffic in 2026, world rankings, AAHK's financial year, flights, cargo, the value of trade by air, the airlines, the three-runway system, Terminal 2 and links to the Greater Bay Area. Every number links to the body that published it, with the date.

Hong Kong airport figures depend on who counts and over what period. AAHK's passenger count includes transit passengers; the Civil Aviation Department's count, which ACI World uses, leaves them out. Freight may or may not include airmail, and AAHK reports by calendar year, by its April to March financial year and by rolling 12 months. Each figure here says whose it is, what it measures and which period it covers.

Headline figures

  • Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 60.956 million passengers in calendar 2025 on the Airport Authority Hong Kong's finalised count, which includes transit passengers. (AAHK (annual traffic statistics), Jul 2026)
  • ACI World ranked HKIA the eighth busiest airport in the world for international passengers in 2025, with 60,810,724 international passengers enplaned and deplaned. (ACI World (2025 international ranking), Oct 2026)
  • HKIA was the world's busiest cargo airport in 2025 on ACI World's ranking, with 5,066,345 tonnes of freight and mail. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
  • HKIA handled 49.1 million passengers from January to September 2026, up 10.1% on a year earlier, on AAHK's provisional count. (AAHK (Sep 2026 traffic release), Oct 2026)
  • Over the 12 months to September 2026, HKIA handled 65,444,000 passengers, up 11.5%, on AAHK's provisional monthly figures. (AAHK (Sep 2026 monthly statistics), Oct 2026)
  • In AAHK's 2025/26 financial year, April 2025 to March 2026, HKIA's passenger traffic rose 14.7% to 63 million. (AAHK (Annual Report 2025/26 release), Jul 2026)
  • The Airport Authority made a post-tax profit of HK$2,043 million in 2025/26 and declared a HK$500 million dividend to the Hong Kong SAR Government. (AAHK (Annual Report 2025/26 release), Jul 2026)
  • HKIA's three-runway system was commissioned on 28 November 2024; AAHK's target is to serve 120 million passengers and handle 10 million tonnes of cargo a year in about 10 years from then. (AAHK (three-runway system release), Nov 2024)
  • HKIA has three runways, North, Centre and South, each 3,800 metres long. (AAHK (fact sheet, Sep 2026), Sep 2026)
  • Around 76,000 people work at HKIA, about 3,000 of them for the Airport Authority. (AAHK (fact sheet, Sep 2026), Sep 2026)
  • Around 140 airlines serve more than 220 destinations from HKIA, AAHK says. (AAHK (fact sheet, Sep 2026), Sep 2026)
  • Cathay Pacific and HK Express, the Hong Kong-based Cathay Group airlines, carried more than 36 million passengers across their networks in 2025, up 27%. (Cathay Group (Dec 2025 traffic release), Jan 2026)
  • Hong Kong's total exports carried by air, including re-exports, were worth HK$1,993,051 million in 2025, up 16.8%. (C&SD (trade by mode of transport, exports), Sep 2026)

How many passengers use Hong Kong International Airport each year?

HKIA's passenger numbers grew every year from 2010 to 2018, fell in 2019 and collapsed during the pandemic. Traffic has grown fast since 2023, but 2025 was still below every year from 2014 to 2019.

48.6m 2008 46.2m 2009 50.9m 2010 53.9m 2011 56.5m 2012 59.9m 2013 63.3m 2014 68.5m 2015 70.5m 2016 72.9m 2017 74.7m 2018 71.5m 2019 8.8m 2020 1.4m 2021 5.7m 2022 39.5m 2023 53.0m 2024 61.0m 2025
View data table
Passengers at HKIA each calendar year, in millions, on AAHK's count, which includes transit passengers. Each year comes from AAHK's finalised sheet for that year; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
200848.6m
200946.2m
201050.9m
201153.9m
201256.5m
201359.9m
201463.3m
201568.5m
201670.5m
201772.9m
201874.7m
201971.5m
20208.8m
20211.4m
20225.7m
202339.5m
202453.0m
202561.0m
Passengers at HKIA each calendar year, in millions, on AAHK's count, which includes transit passengers. Each year comes from AAHK's finalised sheet for that year; the link is to the latest one. (AAHK (annual traffic statistics), Jul 2026)

AAHK counts originating, terminating, transfer and transit passengers, with transfer and transit passengers counted twice, and its annual sheets round to the nearest thousand. The 61 million in AAHK's January 2026 release was provisional; the chart uses the finalised sheets. The Civil Aviation Department and ACI World count passengers differently, so their figures are in separate sections and are not charted with AAHK's.

What happened to HKIA traffic in 2019 and during the pandemic?

HKIA's passenger numbers fell in the second half of 2019, after flights were cancelled during public assemblies at the airport in August, and then collapsed in 2020. Traffic stayed very low until the end of 2022 and has grown fast since 2023.

5,718k Jan 1,882k Feb 576k Mar 32k Apr 37k May 59k Jun 96k Jul 84k Aug 100k Sep 79k Oct 81k Nov 91k Dec
View data table
Passengers at HKIA each month in 2020, in thousands, from AAHK's finalised sheet for the year.
PeriodValue
Jan5,718k
Feb1,882k
Mar576k
Apr32k
May37k
Jun59k
Jul96k
Aug84k
Sep100k
Oct79k
Nov81k
Dec91k
Passengers at HKIA each month in 2020, in thousands, from AAHK's finalised sheet for the year. (AAHK (annual traffic statistics), Mar 2021)

AAHK's traffic sheets give no reasons for changes. The August 2019 figures come from AAHK's own release of 14 August 2019, which refers to "participants of the public assemblies" at the airport. AAHK's count includes transit passengers and the CAD figure does not, so the two 2019 totals are different measures and are not compared. All figures are calendar years.

How busy is HKIA in 2026?

Passenger traffic at HKIA has kept growing in 2026, by double digits in the first half of the year, while flights and cargo have grown more slowly. Growth slowed in August and picked up again in September.

5.48m Jan 5.42m Feb 5.73m Mar 5.67m Apr 5.34m May 5.12m Jun 5.62m Jul 5.86m Aug 4.86m Sep
View data table
Passengers at HKIA each month in 2026, in millions, on AAHK's count. January to April are finalised and May to September provisional.
PeriodValue
Jan5.48m
Feb5.42m
Mar5.73m
Apr5.67m
May5.34m
Jun5.12m
Jul5.62m
Aug5.86m
Sep4.86m
Passengers at HKIA each month in 2026, in millions, on AAHK's count. January to April are finalised and May to September provisional. (AAHK (2026 traffic statistics), Oct 2026)

All figures are AAHK's counts, which include transit passengers. AAHK reports by calendar year, by its financial year from April and by rolling 12 months, so each figure says which. Its monthly figures are provisional and rounded to the nearest thousand. The latest monthly figures when this page was reviewed were for September 2026.

Where does HKIA rank for international passengers?

HKIA is back among the ten busiest airports in the world for international passengers on ACI World's confirmed table, but its international traffic in 2025 was still well below 2019. Dubai, Heathrow and Incheon led the table.

  1. 1 Dubai 95.19m
  2. 2 London Heathrow 79.87m
  3. 3 Seoul Incheon 73.55m
  4. 4 Singapore Changi 69.40m
  5. 5 Amsterdam 68.77m
  6. 6 Istanbul 66.61m
  7. 7 Paris CDG 66.14m
  8. 8 Hong Kong 60.81m
  9. 9 Frankfurt 57.53m
  10. 10 Doha 54.34m
The world's ten busiest airports for international passengers in 2025, in millions, on ACI World's table. (ACI World (2025 international ranking), Oct 2026)

ACI World counts international passengers enplaned and deplaned. Its figure for HKIA is the Civil Aviation Department's measure, which counts transfer passengers but leaves out transit passengers, so it is lower than AAHK's own total; the two are not compared. ACI World's preliminary April 2026 tables are not used.

How did HKIA and the Airport Authority do in the 2025/26 financial year?

The Airport Authority's financial year runs from April to March. Traffic grew again in 2025/26, more slowly than in 2024/25, and the Authority declared a smaller dividend than a year earlier.

54.9m 2024/25 63.0m 2025/26
View data table
Passengers at HKIA in AAHK's financial years, April to March, in millions. Each year comes from the release for that year; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
2024/2554.9m
2025/2663.0m
Passengers at HKIA in AAHK's financial years, April to March, in millions. Each year comes from the release for that year; the link is to the latest one. (AAHK (Annual Report 2025/26 release), Jul 2026)
  • Flight movements rose 7.1% to 399,450 in 2025/26 and cargo 2.7% to 5.1 million tonnes. (AAHK (Annual Report 2025/26 release), Jul 2026)
  • In March 2026, the last month of the financial year, flight movements rose 2.7% to 34,100 and cargo fell 4.4% to 430,000 tonnes, on provisional figures. (AAHK (Mar 2026 monthly statistics), Mar 2026)
  • In 2024/25 passenger traffic grew 21.6% to 54.9 million, cargo 10.3% to 5.0 million tonnes and flight movements 20.5% to 373,050. (AAHK (Annual Report 2024/25 release), Jul 2025)
  • AAHK made a profit of HK$2,457 million in 2024/25 and declared a HK$1,300 million dividend, its first since 2014/15, when it began keeping its operating surpluses to pay for the three-runway system. (AAHK (Annual Report 2024/25 release), Jul 2025)

Figures in this section are for AAHK's financial year, April to March, and are not comparable with calendar-year totals. The two releases call the result "post-tax profit" (2025/26) and "profit" (2024/25), so the two are not compared. AAHK's provisional March 2026 sheet gives a slightly different growth rate for 2025/26 passengers; the annual report release is used here.

How many flights does HKIA handle?

Flight numbers at HKIA have grown every year since 2022, and over the 12 months to September 2026 they were close to the 2019 level again. Cargo flights are a large part of the traffic.

301k 2008 279k 2009 307k 2010 334k 2011 352k 2012 372k 2013 391k 2014 406k 2015 412k 2016 421k 2017 428k 2018 420k 2019 161k 2020 145k 2021 139k 2022 276k 2023 363k 2024 395k 2025
View data table
Air traffic movements at HKIA each calendar year, in thousands, from AAHK's finalised sheets. Each year comes from the sheet for that year; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
2008301k
2009279k
2010307k
2011334k
2012352k
2013372k
2014391k
2015406k
2016412k
2017421k
2018428k
2019420k
2020161k
2021145k
2022139k
2023276k
2024363k
2025395k
Air traffic movements at HKIA each calendar year, in thousands, from AAHK's finalised sheets. Each year comes from the sheet for that year; the link is to the latest one. (AAHK (annual traffic statistics), Jul 2026)

AAHK counts civil international air traffic movements, landings plus take-offs of passenger, cargo and non-revenue flights, and leaves out military and local flights. Its annual sheets round to the nearest thousand and its monthly sheets to the nearest 5. The Civil Aviation Department's table, compiled from AAHK data, gives exact counts, so its totals differ slightly from AAHK's. Figures are calendar years unless a period is stated.

How much cargo does HKIA handle each year?

HKIA handles around 5 million tonnes of cargo a year. Cargo held up far better than passenger traffic during the pandemic, and 2021 was one of the airport's busiest cargo years.

5.12m t 2018 4.81m t 2019 4.47m t 2020 5.03m t 2021 4.20m t 2022 4.33m t 2023 4.94m t 2024 5.07m t 2025
View data table
Cargo handled at HKIA each calendar year from 2018, in million tonnes, from AAHK's finalised sheets, including airmail. AAHK left airmail out up to 2017, so earlier years are not shown. Each year comes from the sheet for that year; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
20185.12m t
20194.81m t
20204.47m t
20215.03m t
20224.20m t
20234.33m t
20244.94m t
20255.07m t
Cargo handled at HKIA each calendar year from 2018, in million tonnes, from AAHK's finalised sheets, including airmail. AAHK left airmail out up to 2017, so earlier years are not shown. Each year comes from the sheet for that year; the link is to the latest one. (AAHK (annual traffic statistics), Jul 2026)

AAHK counts cargo loaded and unloaded, with transhipment cargo counted twice. Its sheets include airmail from 2018 and left it out up to 2017, so the years before and after 2018 are not one series. The Civil Aviation Department's freight figures leave out airmail and ACI World counts freight and mail; each is given in its own section.

Is Hong Kong the world's busiest cargo airport?

HKIA has topped ACI World's cargo ranking in most years since 2010 and kept first place in 2025 by a wide margin. Shanghai Pudong was second, and three US airports, Anchorage, Louisville and Miami, came next.

  1. 1 Hong Kong 5.07m t
  2. 2 Shanghai Pudong 4.09m t
  3. 3 Anchorage 3.85m t
  4. 4 Louisville 3.40m t
  5. 5 Miami 3.13m t
  6. 6 Memphis 2.97m t
  7. 7 Incheon 2.95m t
  8. 8 Doha 2.61m t
  9. 9 Taipei 2.50m t
  10. 10 Guangzhou 2.44m t
The world's ten busiest cargo airports in 2025, freight and mail in million tonnes, on ACI World's confirmed ranking. Anchorage's figure includes transit freight. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
  • HKIA's cargo was up 2.7% on 2024 and 5.3% on 2019 on ACI World's count, and it ranked first in 2025, 2024 and 2019. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
  • Shanghai Pudong was second with 4,091,941 tonnes, up 8.3%, and Anchorage third with 3,854,614 tonnes, a figure that includes transit freight. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
  • Louisville (3,396,437 tonnes, up 13.5%) and Miami (3,128,165 tonnes, up 13.6%) were fourth and fifth, while Memphis fell 20.9% to 2,969,502 tonnes and sixth place. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
  • Incheon (2,954,684 tonnes), Doha (2,614,214), Taipei (2,499,899) and Guangzhou (2,439,248) completed the top ten. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
  • Dubai was 11th with 2,146,173 tonnes, Singapore 14th with 2,093,900 and London Heathrow 20th with 1,591,964. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
  • Global air cargo passed 131 million tonnes in 2025, up 3.3% and 7.4% above 2019, and the 20 busiest cargo airports handled 53.1 million tonnes, nearly 41% of the total. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
  • AAHK says HKIA has now topped the global cargo ranking for the 15th time since 2010. (AAHK (2025 cargo ranking release), Apr 2026)
  • In April 2025 AAHK said HKIA had been named the world's busiest cargo airport for 2024, the 14th time since 2010. (AAHK (2024 cargo ranking release), Apr 2025)

ACI World counts loaded and unloaded freight and mail in metric tonnes, and its 2025 table is the confirmed ranking released in July 2026; the preliminary April figures are not used. Anchorage's total includes transit freight, so it is not like for like with the others.

How is HKIA's cargo doing in 2026?

Cargo at HKIA is growing in 2026, led by transhipment cargo that changes planes in Hong Kong. New logistics sites at the airport and in the Greater Bay Area are adding capacity.

414k t Jan 361k t Feb 430k t Mar 426k t Apr 435k t May 436k t Jun 422k t Jul 422k t Aug 433k t Sep
View data table
Cargo handled at HKIA each month in 2026, in thousand tonnes, on AAHK's count. January to April are finalised and May to September provisional.
PeriodValue
Jan414k t
Feb361k t
Mar430k t
Apr426k t
May435k t
Jun436k t
Jul422k t
Aug422k t
Sep433k t
Cargo handled at HKIA each month in 2026, in thousand tonnes, on AAHK's count. January to April are finalised and May to September provisional. (AAHK (2026 traffic statistics), Oct 2026)
  • Cargo rose 3.1% to 3.78 million tonnes from January to September 2026. (AAHK (Sep 2026 traffic release), Oct 2026)
  • In September 2026 transhipments rose 26.9% and imports 9.2%; AAHK linked lower volumes to Europe to "the removal of the EU's duty-free de minimis exemption in July". (AAHK (Sep 2026 traffic release), Oct 2026)
  • HKIA handled 433,000 tonnes of cargo in September 2026, up 6.3%, and 5,180,000 tonnes in the 12 months to September, up 3.3%. (AAHK (Sep 2026 monthly statistics), Oct 2026)
  • Unloaded cargo rose 14.6% to 126,000 tonnes in September 2026 and loaded cargo 3.2% to 306,000 tonnes. (AAHK (Sep 2026 monthly statistics), Oct 2026)
  • June 2026 cargo rose 6.8% to 436,000 tonnes, with transhipments up 19.5%, exports up 3.2% and imports up 5.5%. (AAHK (Jun 2026 traffic release), Jul 2026)
  • In December 2025 cargo grew 3.6% to 462,000 tonnes, with transhipments up 18%. (AAHK (2025 traffic release), Jan 2026)
  • UPS began building a new hub at HKIA in March 2026 that AAHK says "will be capable of handling nearly one million tonnes of cargo annually upon completion in 2028". (AAHK (2025 cargo ranking release), Apr 2026)
  • By the end of 2025/26, 30 airlines and 144 Hong Kong agents were using the HKIA Dongguan Logistics Park, with cargo tonnage and value both up more than 90% on a year earlier. (AAHK (Annual Report 2025/26 release), Jul 2026)

All figures are AAHK's, in tonnes, including airmail, with transhipment cargo counted twice. The UPS and Dongguan capacities are AAHK's statements about facilities still being built. The Dongguan Logistics Park growth figures are for AAHK's financial year to March 2026.

What do the Civil Aviation Department's figures show?

The Civil Aviation Department publishes its own HKIA series, compiled from Airport Authority data. It counts arriving and departing passengers, including transfer passengers but not transit passengers, and leaves airmail out of freight, so its totals are slightly lower than AAHK's.

  • Loaded 3.71m t
  • Unloaded 1.33m t
Freight at HKIA in 2025 by direction, in million tonnes, on the Civil Aviation Department's measure, which leaves out airmail. (CAD (civil aviation statistics), Sep 2026)

CAD's passengers are arrivals plus departures, including transfer passengers and excluding transit passengers; AAHK's count includes transit passengers. CAD's freight leaves out airmail. The CAD and AAHK series are different measures and are not compared or charted together. ACI World's 2025 international figure for HKIA uses CAD's measure. 2026 figures are provisional.

How much of Hong Kong's trade goes by air?

Air carries a large part of Hong Kong's goods trade by value. The value of exports and imports carried by air rose by double digits in 2025 and is well above its 2019 level.

HK$1.55tn 2019 HK$1.71tn 2024 HK$1.99tn 2025
View data table
Value of Hong Kong's total exports carried by air, in HK$ trillion, from the Census and Statistics Department's trade by mode of transport table.
PeriodValue
2019HK$1.55tn
2024HK$1.71tn
2025HK$1.99tn
Value of Hong Kong's total exports carried by air, in HK$ trillion, from the Census and Statistics Department's trade by mode of transport table. (C&SD (trade by mode of transport, exports), Sep 2026)

These are values of all Hong Kong goods trade carried by air, from the Census and Statistics Department, not HKIA's cargo tonnes, and total exports include re-exports. The Dongguan figures are AAHK's, in renminbi, for one facility. Values are not compared with tonnes.

Which airlines fly from HKIA, and how big is the Cathay Group?

Cathay Pacific and HK Express, both based in Hong Kong, grew fast in 2025, and Cathay set new single-day passenger records over the new year. AAHK added dozens of new destinations in 2025 and in its 2025/26 financial year.

  1. 1 Cathay Pacific 28.87m
  2. 2 HK Express 7.91m
Passengers carried by the two Cathay Group airlines in 2025, in millions, across their whole networks, from Cathay Pacific's HKEX filing. (Cathay Pacific (HKEX Dec 2025 traffic figures), Jan 2026)

Airline figures count passengers carried across each airline's whole network, by flight sector, so they are not HKIA passenger numbers and are not compared with them. The 30 new destinations are for calendar 2025 and the 26 for AAHK's 2025/26 financial year; the periods overlap and are not added.

How big is HKIA, and what did the three-runway system add?

HKIA opened at Chek Lap Kok in 1998 and became a three-runway airport in November 2024. AAHK is also building an airport city development, branded SKYTOPIA, on the airport island.

  1. 1 Passenger stands 118
  2. 2 Cargo stands 63
  3. 3 Long-term and maintenance 21
  4. 4 Temporary stands 9
Aircraft parking stands at HKIA by type, from AAHK's September 2026 fact sheet. (AAHK (fact sheet, Sep 2026), Sep 2026)
  • The airport site covers 1,905 hectares at Chek Lap Kok, 30 km northwest of Hong Kong Island, and opened in July 1998. (AAHK (fact sheet, Sep 2026), Sep 2026)
  • Each of HKIA's runways is 60 metres wide. (AAHK (fact sheet, Sep 2026), Sep 2026)
  • HKIA has 118 passenger stands, 63 cargo stands, 21 long-term and maintenance stands and 9 temporary stands. (AAHK (fact sheet, Sep 2026), Sep 2026)
  • Construction of the three-runway system began in August 2016, and the new North Runway opened in November 2022. (AAHK (three-runway system release), Nov 2024)
  • AAHK's chairman said the system was commissioned on time and within budget in November 2024, raising the airport's annual capacity by 50%. (AAHK (Annual Report 2024/25 release), Jul 2025)
  • Construction of a 20,000-seat performance arena, part of AsiaWorld-Expo's Phase 2, started in 2025/26 and is due to finish by the end of 2028. (AAHK (Annual Report 2025/26 release), Jul 2026)
  • AAHK unveiled the SKYTOPIA brand for its airport city in January 2025; the plan includes Airport Bay Marina, which AAHK says will be Hong Kong's largest yacht bay, with over 500 berths. (AAHK (SKYTOPIA release), Jan 2025)

The 50% capacity increase is AAHK's statement, and the release does not say which capacity measure it uses. The passenger and cargo figures for about 10 years after commissioning, given at the top of this page, are AAHK's targets, not forecasts by another body. The marina and arena are plans or under construction.

What does the new Terminal 2 add?

The expanded Terminal 2 has opened in stages since September 2025, with departures opening in May 2026 and arrivals due to follow in 2027. Its departure hall combines hybrid check-in counters with self-service bag drops and kiosks, and its security gates use facial recognition.

  1. 1 Hybrid check-in counters 108
  2. 2 Express self-bag drop counters 68
  3. 3 Immigration counters 60
  4. 4 Smart check-in kiosks 58
  5. 5 Immigration e-Channels 35
  6. 6 e-Security Gates 20
  7. 7 Smart security screening channels 15
Departure facilities in the new Terminal 2 at opening, number of each, from AAHK's opening release. (AAHK (Terminal 2 opening release), May 2026)
  • The Terminal 2 Coach Hall opened in September 2025 and its departure facilities on 27 May 2026; 15 airlines operate at Terminal 2. (AAHK (fact sheet, Sep 2026), Sep 2026)
  • The Terminal 2 departures hall has 108 hybrid check-in counters, 68 express self-bag drop counters and 58 smart check-in kiosks, and its arrival facilities are expected to open in 2027. (AAHK (Terminal 2 opening release), May 2026)
  • Terminal 2 has 20 e-Security Gates with facial recognition and 15 smart security screening channels, and the Immigration Department has set up 35 e-Channels and 60 counters for departing passengers. (AAHK (Terminal 2 opening release), May 2026)
  • Terminal 1 has 369 check-in counters. (AAHK (fact sheet, Sep 2026), Sep 2026)

AAHK's documents give different floor areas for Terminal 2, so no floor area is shown. Facility counts are AAHK's, at opening; immigration facilities are run by the Immigration Department.

How do passengers get to HKIA from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area?

HKIA is linked to the city by rail, bus and road, and to the wider Greater Bay Area by coach and ferry. AAHK is also adding check-in points in Mainland cities and new transport links on the airport island.

Travel times, route counts and the population claim are AAHK's own statements, and AAHK does not give its method for the population figure. City Terminals are check-in points away from the airport. The new links on the airport island are planned dates, not opened services.

Glossary

HKIA
Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong SAR.
AAHK
Airport Authority Hong Kong, the statutory body that runs HKIA and publishes its traffic figures.
CAD
The Civil Aviation Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government, which publishes an HKIA traffic table compiled from AAHK data.
C&SD
The Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government, which publishes trade figures by mode of transport.
ACI World
Airports Council International, the trade body for airports, which publishes the world airport traffic rankings.
Transfer / transit passengers
Transfer passengers change planes at HKIA; transit passengers stay on board a flight that stops there. AAHK counts both, and counts them twice; CAD counts transfer passengers but not transit passengers.
Transhipment
Cargo that arrives at HKIA by air and leaves again by air. AAHK counts it twice, on unloading and loading.
Air traffic movement
A landing or a take-off. One flight in and out counts as two movements.
Financial year
AAHK's financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March, so 2025/26 is April 2025 to March 2026.
Rolling 12 months
The total for the latest 12 months, for example October 2025 to September 2026.
3RS
The three-runway system, HKIA's expansion with a new North Runway, commissioned in November 2024.
Load factor
The share of an airline's seats, or cargo capacity, that is filled.
GBA
The Greater Bay Area: Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in Guangdong province.
City Terminal
An AAHK check-in point away from the airport, mainly in Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area.
SKYTOPIA
AAHK's brand for the airport city development on the airport island.

Methodology and sources

Figures come from the Airport Authority Hong Kong's finalised annual and provisional monthly traffic sheets, its fact sheet and its press releases, including its annual report releases; from the Civil Aviation Department's HKIA traffic table; from the Census and Statistics Department's trade by mode of transport tables; from ACI World's airport rankings; and from the Cathay Group's traffic releases and HKEX filings. Each figure links to the release or dataset that carries it, with the date, and AAHK figures are labelled by release. AAHK passenger counts, which include transit passengers, are kept apart from the CAD measure used by ACI World; cargo with and without airmail, cargo tonnes and trade values, and airport and airline figures are also kept apart. Each figure says whether it covers a calendar year, AAHK's April to March financial year or a rolling 12 months, and targets are labelled as AAHK's. Where sources disagree, the figure is left out or the annual report release is used. The page is reviewed monthly and the date is shown at the top.