Hong Kong International Airport recorded the world’s largest cargo throughput in 2008 with a total of 3.63m tons. It was followed by Seoul, Tokyo, Paris and Frankfurt, according to statistics released by Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department.

Throughput at Hong Kong has been growing at an average annual rate of 7 per cent since 2003.

In a separate development, China Southern Airlines has applied to the Civil Aviation Authority of China to operate flights on several new routes, according to FlightGlobal.

One of the planned routes due to start early next year is a three-times weekly cargo service between Shanghai Pudong and Chicago, via Anchorage. The Guangzhou-based carrier plans to operate either Boeing 747-400Fs or Boeing 777s on this route, said the administration.