MACAO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Macao's commercial flights increased by 13.1 percent to over 60,000 trips in 2018 and air cargo grew by 10.6 percent year-on-year to over 40,000 tons, the special administrative region (SAR)'s statistic service said here on Friday.

The latest data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that commercial flights increased by 13.1 percent year-on-year to 62,048 trips, with those to and from the Chinese mainland and Thailand showing growth of 20.9 percent and 20.8 percent respectively,

DSEC data showed that commercial flights to and from South Korea and Vietnam fell by 15.5 percent and 8.8 percent in 2018 respectively.

Helicopter flights between Macao and the Chinese mainland and between Macao and Hong Kong SAR rose by 2.7 percent year-on-year to 13,089 trips for the whole year.

In 2018, air cargo handled by Macao International Airport increased by 10.6 percent year-on-year to 41,481 tons, with the gross weight of inward cargo (7,083 tons) and outward cargo (27,521 tons) rising by 6.6 percent and 17.8 percent respectively. Meanwhile the gross weight of transit cargo (6,877 tons) decreased by 8.2 percent.

DSEC also mentioned that ferry trips between Macao and the Chinese mainland and between Macao and Hong Kong SAR totalled 131,740 in 2018, down by 5.1 percent year-on-year. Those to and from Hong Kong SAR (111,186) dropped by 1.9 percent.

Seaborne container throughput amounted to 138,639 Twentyfoot Equivalent Unit (TEU), with 94,254 containers handled, up by 6.8 percent and 4.4 percent respectively.