The airport handled 71.5 million passengers last year, a decline of 4.2 percent from a record 74.6 million the previous year, the Airport Authority of Hong Kong said in a statement. That meant Hong Kong slipped behind Shanghai and Guangzhou, which processed 76.1 million and 73.4 million domestic and international passengers respectively. Inbound traffic to Hong Kong plunged 48 percent last year to 35.66 million, the first decline since 2009, the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department said. The territory topped Vancouver and Sydney as the most unaffordable housing market last year, according to a report yesterday by urban planning policy consultancy Demographia. Melbourne remained the fourth-most unaffordable housing market, while Toronto and Auckland climbed to sixth place.
