HK drives China airports

3 Sep 2014 00:19:33

scmp.com

Shanghai has beaten Beijing as the busiest airport in mainland China for the first time in the first half, but for both airports, Hong Kong is fast becoming one of the most important sources of revenue.

Earnings posted by mainland Chinese airports in the past few weeks show passenger revenue from international routes are growing at the fastest clip, outpacing shorter, domestic routes.

Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan flights at Shanghai's two airports, Pudong and Hongqiao, increased 15.7 per cent as the number of passengers on those routes grew 16.8 per cent in the first half, making them the most promising growth driver, followed by Japan and South Korea, according to the Shanghai Airport Authority.

Beijing handled 9.9 million passengers for international routes in the first half, 5.4 per cent more than a year earlier, while domestic passenger volume grew only 0.9 per cent.

International traffic is contributing a greater share of revenue at mainland Chinese airports as, analysts say, airports are witnessing a structural change in passenger traffic mix towards more long-haul and international flights, driven by the country's rising outbound travel demand.

Airports were actively pushing for this change as international flights were bigger revenue earners, said an industry analyst based in Hong Kong who did not want to be named.

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