BEIJING, June 19 -- Hong Kong International Airport, Asia's third-busiest airfield by passenger numbers, handled 7 percent more people in May than a year earlier because of a surge in visitors from the Chinese mainland during the Labor Day holiday.

Passenger numbers at the airport rose to 3.55 million last month from 3.31 million a year earlier, Airport Authority Hong Kong said yesterday. Cargo volume rose 4.5 percent to 283,000 metric tons from 270,880 tons.

The city received 415,400 mainland visitors during the holiday, which started on May 1, less than the government's target of 420,000, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported on May 18.

Passenger traffic for the first five months of the year rose to 17.7 million, a "double digit" increase from a year earlier, the airport authority said, without providing details.

"The continuous growth of passenger traffic was mainly driven by the steady growth of visitors from the US, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Chinese mainland," said Howard Eng, airport management director of the airport authority. "As the summer holidays are approaching, we remain positive for passenger traffic."

Hong Kong airport was Asia's third busiest by passenger numbers last year, behind Tokyo's Haneda and Beijing Capital International Airport, according to Airports Council International, which represents 557 airfield operators worldwide. (Source: Shanghai Daily)