Passenger traffic through the Hong Kong International Airport fell 0.8 percent year on year to 3.03 million in January, the Airport Authority said.

In a statement late Monday, the authority attributed the drop to a larger base in January last year due to the Lunar New Year holiday. This year, the Lunar New Year fell in February.

In January, air cargo rose 25 percent year on year to 247,000 metric tons, on strong demand from the United States, Europe and the Chinese mainland. A total of 20,265 aircraft took off and landed in the airport, up 5 percent year on year.

The authority also said about 150,000 passengers traveled through the airport Sunday, setting a new high for single-day passenger traffic since the airport’s opening.

It said the number of aircraft movements was highest Feb. 9, the first day of the Lunar New Year, with 743 landings and takeoffs, compared with 650 flights on an average day.

In another development, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest airline, reported Monday weaker passenger and cargo traffic figures in January compared with the previous month.

Cathay Pacific carried 1,206,784 passengers in January, down 5.2 percent from 1,272, 982 in December.

Cathay Pacific transported 74,929 metric tons of cargo in January, down 9.9 percent from 83,148 in December. The airline expected stronger cargo traffic in January because the weeks in the run-up to Lunar New Year, which was celebrated last week, are traditionally a peak period for cargo.

(Shenzhen Daily February 17, 2005)