More than 3.8 million passengers went through Hong Kong airport in July, according to official figures released on Monday, a rise of 15 percent on the month before.

This compares to 6.7 million passengers in the same month in 2019, before Covid struck.

The Airport Authority said around 120,000 people used the airport each day last month, which was about 60 percent of the number before the pandemic.

Traffic to and from Southeast Asia, the mainland and Japan recorded the most substantial increases, the authority said.

Cargo throughput in July saw a month-on-month increase of 1.7 percent, at 361,000 tonnes.

Last month, the International Air Transport Association said it expects Hong Kong's air passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year.