The Airport Authority said the number of flights in the first week of this month rose 13.2 per cent from last year, and it now expects record volumes in both passenger and cargo throughput this year.
Stanley Hui Hon-chung, the authority's chief executive, said the number of passengers rose 10.7 per cent to 924,000, cargo traffic surged 20.7 per cent to 75,000 tonnes and flights increased 13.2 per cent to 6,000 during the week.
The figures point to a significant improvement in a traditionally busy period. Many mainlanders take holidays during the first week of October, one of the 'Golden Week' holidays.
So far this year both air passenger traffic and cargo volumes have seen robust growth and Hui expects air traffic and cargo would reach record levels this year.
For the first nine months, passenger volume amounted to 38 million, up 10.9 per cent from the same period last year. Cargo climbed 28.7 per cent to 3 million tonnes and the number of flights increased 8.2 per cent to 224,890.
The Airport Authority figures chime with other evidence of a significant recovery in passenger and cargo traffic, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.