Hong Kong airport reports largest passenger traffic decline for a decade
Hong Kong International Airport may still be one of the world’s busiest airport hubs, but it saw its largest decline in passenger traffic for 10 years.
More than 71 million travellers passed through HKIA in 2018, which is down by a massive 3.2 million on the previous year.
The airport itself has been at the very centre of pro-democracy protests with operations disrupted multiple times with sit-in protests bringing operations to a standstill.
Protests have hit tourism and business travel hard.
The 4.2% decline is the biggest since the financial crisis of 2009.
Passenger traffic was up by more than a million in the first half of the year but protests have wiped out that gain.
In the second half of 2018, passenger traffic was down nearly 20%, although transit traffic has remained stable.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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