Hong Kong's airport authority has announced a HK$450m (£39m, €43.8m) relief package to assist airlines and operators struggling through the economic downturn at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

The package comprises a 10 per cent reduction in landing and parking charges until the end of 2009 - a saving of HK$200m (£17.3m, €19.4m) - along with a 50 per cent reduction in rental payments for airline lounges, office premises and storage. To alleviate cash flow issues, operators can deter their payments for one year at which point it will be paid in interest-free installments from April 2010 - which, if all businesses do this, will amount to a saving of HK$250m (£21.6m, €24.3m). Stanley Hui Hon-chung, chief executive officer of the Airport Authority, said HKIA has been suffering from the flagging global economy and declining traffic volumes since August 2008. The first quarter of 2009 showed a year-on-year decrease in passenger throughput, cargo volume and aircraft movements of 7.1 per cent, 22.8 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively.

"The operating environment facing the global aviation industry is expected to remain challenging for the rest of 2009," he added. "We intend to ride out the recession with our business partners by introducing relief measures that are reasonable, responsive and within our means. "The reduction of both landing and parking fees will help airlines at HKIA reduce operating costs. Meanwhile, the ability to defer rental payments will help our business partners deal with liquidity issues in a troubled operating environment. We hope the relief measures will help airlines to maintain their flight schedules at HKIA in support of our efforts to maintain HKIA as a regional and international aviation centre."

This is not the only airport authority to hand out a relief package. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore also announced earlier this year a S$200m (£90.7m, €101m) cash injection to Singapore's airlines and airport partners. European airports are also struggling under the current economy. London's Gatwick Airport has been the hit the hardest of all UK flight hubs, experiencing a 17.7 per cent fall in passenger numbers. Stansted Airport has also seen the number of its passenger traffic decrease by 16 per cent.

The Airports Council International (Europe) stated that overall passenger traffic at European airports in February 2009 fell by 13.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2008. While, according to local press, the Los Angeles airport authority in the US has said its regional Palmdale airport, which was shut earlier this year would not re-open for years, if not decades, unless the airline industry can recover from the recession.