Hong Kong Regains Momentum With Largest Capacity Growth

Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is set to post the world’s largest increase in departing seat capacity this summer, driven by ongoing network recovery and the operational impact of its expanded runway system.

According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, HKG is scheduled to offer almost 22.3 million departing seats during the summer 2025 season, an increase of nearly 2.67 million seats—or 13.6%—compared to the same period in 2024. The growth marks the largest absolute increase among all airports worldwide and comes as partner airlines add more destinations and strengthen frequencies across regional and long-haul networks.

Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport ranks second, with an additional 2.37 million departing seats, followed by Chicago O’Hare International Airport with a gain of 2.29 million. Kuala Lumpur International Airport is fourth, while Porto Alegre–Salgado Filho International Airport (POA) places fifth—rebounding after being closed for much of summer 2024 due to regional flooding.

Hong Kong, which will host Routes World 2025 in September, is connected to 149 destinations globally this summer, up from 131 a year ago. Recent network additions include Dallas-Fort Worth, Munich and Rome—new and resumed routes launched by Cathay Pacific as the carrier extends its international reach.

HKG’s strongest markets by volume are Taipei, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi and Manila, but the largest year-on-year growth is coming from other destinations. Phu Quoc, Vietnam, leads with 264,000 more seats this summer, compared with last, followed by Los Angeles with almost 230,000 more. Hangzhou, China, also shows strong growth with 215,000 more seats.

Overall, HKG's capacity has recovered to around 85% of pre-pandemic levels. While recovery continues, operations have also been significantly boosted by the launch of the airport’s Three-Runway System (3RS), commissioned in November 2024. The 3RS enables simultaneous use of all three runways for the first time, with the long-term goal of increasing hourly flight movements by nearly 50%.

In peak periods, HKG currently handles 60–70 movements per hour and aims to increase this to 75 by the end of 2025, according to Steven Yiu, executive director of airport operations at Airport Authority Hong Kong. Long-term, the 3RS is designed to support up to 102 movements per hour once fully phased in.

While Hong Kong leads global airports in absolute seat growth this summer, other airports are showing strong growth in percentage terms. Among airports with more than 1 million scheduled departing seats for summer 2025, Porto Alegre tops the list, rebounding after the extended closure during the 2024 season. Çukurova International Airport in southern Turkey ranks second, but only opened in August 2024, skewing year-on-year comparisons.

Adjusting for such anomalies, Chișinău International Airport in Moldova leads on a like-for-like basis, posting 59.3% year-on-year growth in scheduled departure seats. The surge is driven primarily by Wizz Air, which has added more than 377,000 seats across its Hungary, Malta, UK and Abu Dhabi subsidiaries—a 170% increase. Moldova’s FlyOne has also expanded significantly, adding nearly 208,000 seats, while SkyUp has contributed 114,000 additional seats after opening a base and stationing two Airbus A320s at the airport this summer.

Other notable growth includes Vietnam’s Phu Quoc International Airport, up 39.6%, and Krabi International Airport in Thailand, up 32.9% compared to last summer.