Flying high: Fifteen additional scheduled passenger and cargo services will operate to and from Hong Kong on a weekly basis in the coming winter season.

Air traffic at the HK International Airport has not only bounced back to pre-SARS levels, it has even exceeded them, the Civil Aviation Department says.

In the coming winter season, 15 more weekly scheduled passenger and cargo services will operate to and from Hong Kong. 

In the new season - October 26 to March 27 - 128 additional scheduled passenger and cargo services are offered each week. However, 113 services have been cancelled, making a net increase of 15.

More than half of the additional passenger services operate between Hong Kong and the Mainland, notably Shanghai and Beijing.

Shanghai registered an increase of 25 weekly services, taking the total frequencies to 165; Beijing registered 10 new weekly services, taking its total to 101. 

Surge due to increased Mainland travellers

The surge can be largely attributed to the higher demand for air services to Hong Kong by individual Mainland travellers.

With the addition of 54 services per week, the number of weekly air services between Hong Kong and the Mainland stands at more than 600, that is, over 1,200 flight movements.

Four airlines have launched new passenger services to and from Hong Kong.

These involve the provision of 14 weekly services to Bangkok by HK Dragon Airlines, three weekly services to Beijing by Cathay Pacific Airways from December 2, three weekly services between Nairobi and Hong Kong via Bangkok by Kenya Airways, and a weekly service from Moscow by Transaero Airlines.

Kenya Airways and Transaero Airlines are new passenger carriers serving Hong Kong, while Nairobi is a new destination.

More cargo services to Shanghai, Singapore & Cologne

About half of the additional cargo services are operated to Shanghai, Singapore and Cologne.

Cologne in Germany is a new destination served by cargo carrier United Parcel Service. Another new port added to the route network of HK International Airport is Novosibirsk; cargo services to the port are operated by Aeroflot Russian International Airlines.