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Hong Kong economy
Hong KongTransport

Hong Kong airport languishes as Singapore Changi is Asia’s No 1 for passenger arrivals from April to June

  • Easing of hotel quarantine rules not enough to safeguard city’s aviation hub status, experts warn
  • Asia’s busiest airport before pandemic, Hong Kong has been overtaken by much smaller air hubs

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Singapore Changi is the top airport in Asia for passenger numbers. Photo: AFP
Laura Westbrook

Singapore’s Changi Airport has emerged as the leader among Asian airports in terms of international passenger traffic for the second quarter of this year, with Hong Kong not even making the top 10 and leaving analysts pessimistic about its pace of recovery.

Aviation experts said they expected the gap between the rival airports to widen, with a global airline industry group warning that Hong Kong had a long way to go to catch up with the rest of Asia and the world.

International travel rebounded as many Asian countries lifted their Covid-19 travel restrictions from April, with South Asia recovering faster and Delhi, Mumbai and Dhaka airports emerging among the region’s top performers.

Hong Kong has relaxed its quarantine policy for arrivals. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Hong Kong has relaxed its quarantine policy for arrivals. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
From April to June, Changi handled 7.3 million passengers to take the top spot in Asia, based on data compiled by Singapore independent consulting firm Sobie Aviation.

The next four busiest airports were Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (3.2 million each), Seoul Incheon Airport (2.9 million) and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (2.6 million).

Hong Kong International Airport handled only 591,000 passengers over the three months, sinking to around 30th position and overtaken by numerous much smaller airports.
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