In the 2026 World Air Freight Awards, Hong Kong International Airport was ranked as the best airport in the world. The Hong Kong media said that the outstanding performance of the aviation industry is a reflection of Hong Kong’s strength as an international aviation hub, and also a microcosm of Hong Kong’s continued economic improvement.
Hong Kong International Airport
The Hong Kong International Airport won the “Best Airport of the Year – Important Freight Hub” award for the second consecutive year in the “2026 World Air Freight Awards” held in June by the authority of the logistics industry, Air Freight Weekly. The Hong Kong International Airport was also awarded the “Air Freight Innovation Award” through the “Hong Kong Air Freight Import and Pickup Digital Access” program. In the same month, the Hong Kong International Airport was selected for the 11th consecutive year as the “Best Airport of the World” in the “2026 Asia Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain Awards” hosted by the renowned logistics and supply chain magazine, Asia Cargo News. The Hong Kong International Airport was also awarded the “Best Airport of Asia (over 1 million tonnes of cargo)” award for the second consecutive year. Fang Ruiwen, Director of Aviation Hub Development, said that the two awards strongly affirm the results of the joint efforts of all airport peers and also consolidate Hong Kong‘s reputation as a leading hub for world cargo.
According to the Hong Kong Star Island Daily Network, data released by the Administration on June 20 showed that the Hong Kong airport received a total of 5.12 million passengers in June, up 7.9% year-on-year; the passenger volume in the first half of this year reached 32.8 million passengers, up 11.7% year-on-year. In the first half of this year, the number of aircraft taking off and landing increased by 4.4% to more than 200,000, and in the past 12 months, the number of airport passengers increased by 12.7% year-on-year to 64.4 million. The Administration said that the increase in passenger volume in June this year mainly benefited from double-digit increases in connecting or transiting passengers. In terms of cargo, the June cargo volume increased by 6.8% year-on-year to 436,000 tons, mainly driven by the 19.5% surge in transiting cargo volume; export and import cargo volumes also increased by 3.2% and 5.5% respectively. In the first half, Hong Kong airport cargo volume increased 4.1% year-on-year to 2.5 million tonnes. In the past 12 months, airport cargo volume increased 3.7% year-on-year to 5.17 million tonnes.
The Hong Kong Da Gongbao commented on the news on 21st that the airport is bustling with people, behind which is the prosperity of business travel and trade. Hong Kong‘s real GDP grew 5.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, marking a five-year single-quarter high. In the second half, with the succession of international events appearing, plus the HKSAR Government taking advantage of the situation to launch global promotion on the theme of local characteristics, as well as favorable conditions such as the inauguration of the airport‘s passenger transport building No. 2, the Hong Kong tourism economy is expected to maintain an upward trend, and bring prosperity to related industries such as retail and hospitality, injecting sustained dynamic energy into Hong Kong‘s overall economic development. (Ye Lan)