The 872 flight movements exceeded the daily average of 780 movements by 11.8 percent, breaking the previous single-day record of 870 flight movements on April 14, 2006. There were also 500 flight movements operated through the Hong Kong Flight Information Region on February 16, exceeding the daily average of 406 movements by 23 percent, the spokesman said.

During this Chinese lunar New Year holiday period, most of the extra flights operated by airlines were to destinations on the Chinese mainland, and in Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. Taipei was the most popular destination, followed by Guilin in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Buoyed by the robust economy in the region, the increase in flight movements was attributed to the heavy travel demand during the Spring Festival holiday. A strong growth was also registered in the air traffic operating to and from Hong Kong and through the Hong Kong Flight Information Region.

Last year 280,492 aircraft movements were handled at the Hong Kong International Airport and the overflight traffic hit a record of 139,714 movements. They represented an annual increase of 6.4 percent and 11.2 percent respectively.

"The Civil Aviation Department is encouraged by this new record. The steady growth in air traffic will strengthen Hong Kong's status as an international and regional aviation hub," the spokesman said.

"As always, our Air Traffic Control staff will continue to strive to provide a safe and efficient service to the air traveling public," he added.