The Cathay Group released its traffic figures for January 2026 today, 24th February, showing how 2026 got off to a good start with sustained growth for both its passenger and cargo businesses.
According to Cathay chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau: “As a Group, we have made a solid start to 2026 with momentum from the robust year-end travel peak sustaining into early January. Our passenger airlines Cathay Pacific and HK Express carried a combined total of more than 3.3 million passengers in January 2026, an 11 percent increase compared with January 2025. Meanwhile, Cathay Cargo carried over 130,000 tonnes of cargo during the month, marking a five percent increase year on year.
At the same time, both Cathay Pacific and the Cathay Group achieved new single-day passenger records on 14th February..
Cathay Pacific surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time in its history, carrying 100,747 passengers onboard; together with HK Express, the Group has already carried a combined total of around 128,000 passengers.
Cathay Pacific in January
Cathay Pacific carried 11 percent more passengers in January 2026 compared with January 2025, while Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) increased by 14 percent.
Regarding this, Lau said: “We saw robust demand in early January, driven by outbound student traffic and travellers returning from the year-end holiday season. This was followed by a strong rebound in business travel, with load factor for our premium cabins performing better than in January 2025. We also experienced a significant increase in transit traffic as we continued to add frequencies across our network, further strengthening the connectivity of the Hong Kong international aviation hub.”
The recent Lunar New Year holiday likewise resulted in robust leisure traffic for the airline as customers across Asia took advantage of the extended holiday period.
Looking ahead to Easter, travel demand remains robust and Cathay Pacific anticipates bookings to accelerate as more customers book closer to their departure dates.
Cathay Cargo in January
Cathay Cargo carried five percent more cargo in January 2026 than in January 2025, while Available Freight Tonne Kilometres (AFTKs) increased by three percent.
Lau pointed out that the Group’s cargo business got off to a slower start in 2026 while still maintaining year-on-year growth.
She added: “Meanwhile, our specialist solutions continued to perform well. Cherries and seafood from Oceania to Hong Kong and other major Asian cities contributed significantly to the demand for Cathay Fresh, while increased pharmaceutical movements from Europe and Central America supported the continued growth of our Cathay Pharma solution.”
It should also be noted that Cathay Cargo flew around 60 elite showjumping horses from Europe to Hong Kong for the Longines Hong Kong International Horse Show 2026, demonstrating its expertise in transporting live animals as the event’s founding partner.
HK Express in January
HK Express carried more than 710,000 passengers in January 2026, an increase of eight percent year on year, while Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) grew by 13 percent.
Throughout the past month, HK Express also continued to record passenger growth supported by solid load factors on its South Korea and Thailand routes.
Lau said of this: “Looking at February and March, bookings remain healthy on the back of strong growth in travel demand to the Chinese Mainland and Southeast Asia. Notably, on 20 February 2026, HK Express achieved a new single-day record, surpassing 30,000 passengers carried onboard for the very first time.”
