Hong Kong-based handling and security provider ASA has reported a sharp increase in recent months in traffic at its Asia-Pacific locations, which has prompted the company to recruit additional staff to support flights coming from within Asia, as well as from North America, Europe and the Middle East.

“We have been incredibly busy since the middle of December, so much so that we have had to beef up our team and bring in new staff,” said ASA chief executive Simon Wagstaff. “There is roughly a fifty-fifty split between business and pleasure flights and we are pleased to see that this upturn has lasted several weeks with no sign of abating.”   

ASA has just opened a base here in Singapore and is predicting a further 15- to 20-percent growth in its business. The company–which also provides support, including concierge services, in countries such as Thailand and Cambodia–has started donating a percentage of its revenues to the SISHA charity whose goal is to put an end to human trafficking in Asia. The group has rescued almost 300 people over the past year, primarily from enforced prostitution.