Hong Kong airport has just celebrated the completion of a new expansion project as it continues to lead the way, but the same cannot be said about the fortunes of its sea port.

Hong Kong International is the world’s busiest airport for cargo and recently launched its much-awaited three-runway system and new airport centre, which has increased the airport’s cargo handling capacity. 

Hong Kong moved 4.3m kgs of air freight in 2023, and the three-runway system increases its capacity to 10m tonnes per year. The expansion project included the reconfiguration of the centre runway and installation of new and improved infrastructure and systems. 

Cathay Pacific has already committed to additional flights through Hong Kong as its home hub and with more carriers due to come on board, this should cement its place at the top of the rankings for the foreseeable future.

However, the country’s sea port is not showing the same signs of progression and has gradually slipped down the rankings since China started focused heavily on its mainland ports after the UK’s lease of the country expired in 1997.

For 15 of the 18 years between 1987 and 2004, Hong Kong had the world’s busiest sea port, but in 2023 it fell out of the top ten. Hong Kong port now only ranks seventh in China behind Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Qingdao and Tianjin and the port of Shanghai now handles more than 3 times the container traffic.

In recent weeks, Hong Kong has even long been excluded as a port of call from from one of the major alliance’s 2025 Asia-US West Coast schedule after being central to carrier services for years.

So, being a major gateway to China for the west may end up a thing of the past for Hong Kong, but its airport continues to lead the way.