April 2025 was another busy month at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). Passenger numbers were well up on a year earlier, helped along by the Easter holiday period, while cargo held a modest gain and flight movements kept climbing. Below are the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) figures for the month, with a bit of colour from the Airport Authority where it helps.
Passenger Traffic: Easter Helps Push Numbers Higher
According to CAD, HKIA handled 5.174.431 passengers in April 2025, a 23.0% increase on April 2024 (4.207.173). Arrivals were 2.567.049 and departures 2.607.382.
Month-on-month, that is about 8.0% above March 2025’s 4.792.676 passengers — a clear step up into the holiday period.
The Airport Authority’s rounded headline was about 5.19 million passengers (+23.2% year-on-year). The small gap versus CAD is just rounding and how each side presents the monthly total; I use CAD as the precise source here. AAHK also noted a single-day peak of around 197.000 passengers on 20 April, right in the Easter rush.
On a longer view (AAHK): January–April 2025 came to about 19.8 million passengers (+17% year-on-year), and the rolling twelve months to about 55.9 million (+20.8%).
New routes mentioned for the period include Cathay Pacific to Dallas, HK Express to Komatsu and Ishigaki, and Vietnam Airlines to Nha Trang — useful extra capacity into and out of the hub, even if one month’s stats do not pin growth to any single route.
Cargo Handling: Modest Gain After a Strong March
CAD recorded 400.855 tonnes of air cargo in April 2025, up 2.6% on April 2024 (390.822 tonnes). Loaded cargo was 294.310 tonnes; unloaded 106.546 tonnes. (CAD’s freight figures exclude air mail.)
Compared with March 2025’s 446.333 tonnes, April was down about 10.2% month-on-month. March had been a strong cargo month, so the dip is not especially surprising on its own.
AAHK rounded the April total to about 404.000 tonnes (+2.6% year-on-year) and pointed to Europe and the Middle East as growth drivers, with transshipments up 13.9%. Year-to-date cargo (Jan–Apr) was about 1.57 million tonnes (+3.0%), and the rolling twelve months about 4.98 million tonnes (+9.3%).
Flight Movements: Still Climbing Year-on-Year
CAD counted 32.655 civil international flight movements at HKIA in April 2025 (16.327 landings and 16.328 take-offs), a 12.4% rise on April 2024’s 29.056.
Month-on-month, movements were about 1.7% below March 2025 (33.214) — slightly quieter on the apron than March, even as passenger numbers rose.
AAHK’s rounded figure was 32.675 movements (+12.5% year-on-year). Again, a small difference versus CAD; same story, slightly different presentation. YTD movements (AAHK) were about 128.650 (+11.6%), and the rolling twelve months about 376.670 (+18.8%).
CAD’s monthly workbook does not split April into passenger, cargo and non-revenue movements, and the Airport Authority release gives the total only — so I am not inventing a breakdown this time.
Conclusion
April 2025 looks like a solid month for HKIA: passengers well ahead of last year, cargo still growing if a bit softer than March, and movements up in double digits year-on-year. Easter clearly showed up in the daily peak, and the new long-haul and regional routes fit the picture of a hub that is still adding destinations.
Sources: Civil Aviation Department – Air Traffic Statistics · Airport Authority Hong Kong press release, 16 May 2025
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