HONG KONG - The passenger volume and cargo throughput the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled in 2019 decreased by 4.2 percent and 6.1 percent respectively compared with the previous year, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said on Sunday.

HKIA handled 71.5 million passengers and 419,730 flight movements in 2019. The figures represent decreases of 4.2 percent in passenger volume and 1.9 percent in flight movements respectively compared to 2018.

Total cargo throughput declined 6.1 percent year on year to 4.8 million tons.

HKIA registered 33,990 flight movements in December 2019, an 8.4 percent year-on-year decrease. Passenger volume declined 12.5 percent to 5.7 million while cargo throughput decreased slightly by 1 percent to 443,000 tons compared to December 2018.

Passenger volume continued to be affected by weak visitor traffic in December 2019, the airport authority said, adding that passenger figures to and from the Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia experienced the most significant decreases during the month.

Exports saw a 3 percent year-on-year increase in December 2019 while imports and transshipments both remained weak.

Vivian Cheung, executive director of airport operations for the airport authority, said, "Looking ahead, we will continue to enhance the airport's facilities to improve the passenger experience at HKIA even more."

According to Cheung, following the commissioning of the Terminal 1 (T1) extension and the revamp of the East Hall food court in 2019, the enhancements of T1 will continue with gate transformation, the commissioning of Sky Bridge and the extension of Car Park 4.