Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has seen cargo volumes fall by 3.1 per cent to 407,000 tonnes in November, because of weakness in China and South East Asia.

The airport says transhipments fell by six per cent year-on-year and imports were down by four per cent. On a rolling 12 months basis, HKIA has seen cargo volumes increase by 0.3 per cent to just under 4.4 million tonnes.

The airport has had a difficult year, having seen increases in January and February before every month from March to August registered a decline. In the first two months of 2015, cargo volumes increased by 10.3 per cent to 659,000 tonnes, helped by the 22.6 per cent surge in February to 303,000 tonnes. After this every month was down on 2014 until September, which was up by 1.1 per cent to 368,000 tonnes and October, which increased by two per cent to 392,000 tonnes.

On 7 December, HKIA’s operator, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) signed a five billion Hong Kong dollar ($645 million) revolving credit facility with 21 local and international banks to finance construction of a third runway.

At the time, AA chairman, Jack So Chak-kwong said: “Our credit facility was oversubscribed 3.4 times, with 21 banks contributing towards a total initial commitment of 17 billion Hong Kong dollars. These figures stand as a testament to the financial world’s confidence in the AA, our fiscal strength and the long-term prospects of Hong Kong International Airport.”