Hong Kong International Airport will see a recovery in air traffic this year amid early signs of improvement in the global economy and continued strong growth on the Chinese mainland. Airport Authority Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui said across-the-board improvements in air traffic figures for the fourth quarter of last year showed business is returning, adding airlines have been increasing or restoring flight frequencies. He said he is confident the airport will emerge stronger and better, maintaining its status as the port of choice for both passengers and freight operators. Overall there was a 7.7 per cent drop in cargo volumes to 3.35 million tonnes in 2009, year-on-year, with aircraft movements falling 7.2 per cent to 279,505 million while passenger traffic declined 5 per cent to 46.1 million passengers.