The Airports Council International (ACI) has released its preliminary year-end data on the world's busiest airports in 2016.

After registering a 3.5 per cent growth in volume of mail and cargo loaded and unloaded – 4,615,241 tonnes – Hong Kong retained its status as the world's busiest cargo hub both in the overall and international rankings.

In the overall rankings, Hong Kong remained ahead of Memphis in the US, which experienced a 0.7 per cent increase in freight volume handled, and Shanghai in third place, which experienced five per cent growth.

ACI statistics pointed a 3.3 per cent growth in cargo volumes, with international air freight up by 4.3 per cent, reflecting the positive start to the year following the extended seasonal peak.

Cathay Cargo’s General Manager Cargo Sales and Marketing Mark Sutch said: "This is good news for Hong Kong and for Cathay Pacific. It reflects the positive momentum of our cargo business into the Spring. Leading up to the end of March, our tonnage grew well ahead of capacity growth. Asian exports were boosted by a number of new product launches while transpacific routes and inbound-India routes were particularly strong. It has also been encouraging to see the inbound loads from Europe and North America continue to hold up well."