Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has been named once again the world’s busiest cargo airport for 2023 in terms of total volume, according to the latest data released today by Airports Council International (ACI). The airport handled 4.3 million tonnes of cargo during the year. It is the 13th time since 2010 that HKIA is named the busiest cargo airport in the world.

Jack So, Chairman of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), said, “We are proud to have claimed once again the top spot for air cargo throughput. This accomplishment demonstrates HKIA’s resilience, unparalleled efficiency and world-class cargo services. Air cargo is a key driver of the growth of Hong Kong’s logistics industry and overall economic development. AAHK shall continue to work tirelessly with our air cargo community to further strengthen HKIA’s competitiveness as a global cargo hub.”

To ensure adequate capacity to meet long-term demand, HKIA is expanding into a Three-runway System (3RS), with which the airport will be able to handle 10 million tonnes of cargo annually. The 3RS is targeted to complete by the end of this year, with all three runways operating.

To capture future growth opportunities, HKIA is focusing on the high-value and fast-growing segments. HKIA is the first airport in the world to attain the full suite of Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) certifications from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the handling of high-value goods including pharmaceuticals, perishables, live animals and lithium batteries.

In response to the rapid rise of e-commerce, an array of developments are progressing full steam at HKIA to capture the tremendous opportunities. In 2023, HKIA saw the completion of the Cainiao Smart Gateway, developed by Alibaba Group’s logistics arm, and the expansion of DHL’s Central Asia Hub which increases its capacity by 50%. Meanwhile, United Parcel Service (UPS) has announced their plan to establish a new hub facility at HKIA.

To enhance connectivity with the Greater Bay Area (GBA), HKIA has launched a novel cargo sea-air transshipment operation which enables security screening, palletisation, cargo acceptance and other services to be completed upstream at the HKIA Dongguan Logistics Park before the cargo is shipped to HKIA by sea for air transshipment to worldwide destinations. Conversely, a similar process is in place for international imports to the Mainland. The new model revolutionises the way HKIA supports transshipment, and will reinforce HKIA’s role as the most important international cargo gateway for the GBA.