Source: Cathay Pacific Airways
As reported yesterday in Air Cargo News in a story headlined ACI ranks busiest air cargo gateways in 2024, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has once again been named the world’s busiest cargo airport by trade body Airports Council International (ACI) World.
ACI World’s statistics show that HKIA was last year the world’s busiest cargo airport for the 14th time since 2010.
Cathay Cargo, the Hong Kong-based carrier that hubs out of HKIA, said that it was “honoured” to have contributed to the gateway’s success.
Cathay director cargo Tom Owen enthused: “That Hong Kong has once again been named number one in the world for air cargo is an outstanding achievement and one that stands as testament to the cooperation, innovation and world-leading facilities that our home hub has to offer.
“As the largest cargo operator at HKIA, we are proud to be part of this success story.
“We won’t rest on our laurels, however, and our investments into our fleet, network, facilities and digital capabilities reflect not only our commitment to, but also our confidence in the long-term future of the Hong Kong international aviation and logistics hub.
Leading freight carrier
Cathay Cargo is itself among the top 10 cargo carriers in the world based on scheduled cargo tonne kilometres flown, according to the IATA 2023 World Air Transport Statistics.
Last year, Cathay Cargo carried a total of 1.5m tonnes of cargo, 11% more than in 2023. That figure represented approximately 31% of the total cargo throughout of HKIA.
Cathay Cargo provides scheduled freighter services to more than 40 destinations around the world in addition to utilising belly space on the Cathay Group’s passenger aircraft.
The Cathay Group has begun taking delivery of over 100 new-generation passenger and freighter aircraft that will join its fleet in the coming years. This number includes six new Airbus A350F freighter aircraft, with the option to acquire an additional 20 in the future.
Automated cargo transport
In other news from Cathay and HKIA this week, cargo handler Cathay Cargo Terminal, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific Airways located at HKIA, has completed an intensive trial of an Autonomous Electric Tractor (AET) at the airport.
The trial involved a fully autonomous electric tow-tractor pulling four cargo dollies into the Cathay Cargo Terminal and then driving itself to the correct cargo transfer gate for loading.
