HONG KONG, May 13 -- Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 4 million passengers in April, a 5.9 percent increase from April 2006, as thousands of people left Hong Kong during the Easter and Ching Ming holidays, Hong Kong Airport Authority said Sunday.

On April 5, the day before Good Friday, HKIA set a new record with more than 890 aircraft movements, the authority said.

In April 2007, HKIA processed 299,000 tons of cargo and saw 24,460 aircraft movements. These figures represent increases of 1.4 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively, from April 2006.

For the 12 months ended April 30, 2007, passenger traffic rose to 45.3 million, 7.8 percent higher than the corresponding period last year. Cargo throughput and aircraft movements grew 2.8 percent and 4.3 percent, to 3.6 million tons and 283,940, respectively.

Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, Stanley Hui, said while the strong upward trend in passenger traffic continues, cargo volumes softened during the first quarter.

"The air cargo market is well known for its volatility and seasonality, and markets in the Asia Pacific region generally slowed down in the first quarter," Hui said, adding that despite the recent fluctuation in cargo volumes, the authority will continue to expand cargo handling facilities at the HKIA to meet future growth in demand.