The Civil Aviation Department handled 2,342 flights yesterday, setting a new single-day record.

A total of 1,202 flight movements were handled at Hong Kong International Airport and the department also provided air traffic control services for 1,140 overflights, which do not take off or land at the airport.

The previous single-day record of 2,341 flight movements was recorded on August 24, 2017, after the airport recovered from the impact of Super Typhoon Hato.

 "In the past, record movements were usually set before or after long holidays and festive occasions, or after typhoons due to traffic backlogs.

“This time, a record was set even though there was no overnight operation of both runways yesterday, which attests to the strong demand for air traffic,” Director-General of Civil Aviation Simon Li said.

The total number of aircraft movements handled by the department in 2018 increased 7.1% as compared with the previous year, he added.