Hong Kong International Airport handled 8.84 million passengers in 2020, a fall of 88% from the previous year.
Photographer: Justin Chin / Bloomberg
Photographer: Justin Chin / Bloomberg
Hong Kong’s busiest airport is no longer for international traffic in Asia after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted travel, leaving South Korea’s Incheon International Airport in the main place, although numbers were much smaller than in previous years.
Hong Kong International Airport handled 8.84 million passengers in 2020, a fall of 88% from the previous year. That dropped two views to third place, under Seoul’s Incheon and Singapore’s Changi Airport in second place. Incheon handled 11.96 million passengers last year, leaving it on top of the hill for the first time ever. Changi handled 11.8 million.
All three airports handled more than 60 million passengers in 2019, but the pandemic has been hit hard as it has stopped demand for travel. Hong Kong and Singapore were more affected than most by not having a domestic market to serve, and traffic was also delayed due to movement restrictions. Moreover, for Hong Kong, visitor numbers fell in the second half of 2019 when anti-government protests engulfed the city.
Lost the Crown
Hong Kong loses top position as Asia’s busiest airport for international traffic in 2020
Sources: Hong Kong Airport, Incheon International Airport, Changi Airport
Elsewhere, London is no longer Heathrow the busiest airport in Europe after passenger numbers fell 73% last year, leaving it slowing Istanbul and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Singapore and Hong Kong agreed to start a travel corridor last year, but that was it stopped due to an increase in Covid-19 cases. This week Singapore Airlines Ltd launched. preclinical tests test service for passengers.