HONG KONG - The number of passengers coming through Hong Kong International Airport dropped 12 percent last month compared with October 2000. Taken as a whole, the past twelve months saw a marginal 0.8 percent increase in the number of passengers compared with the same period a year earlier. The drop in October was caused by the global economic slow-down, the September 11 attacks and military action in Afghanistan, according to the Airport Authority. Total passenger throughput in October was just under 2.55 million. There were 16,935 aircraft movements during the month, a year on year increase of 4.5 percent. The number of flights to mainland China grew by 13.1 percent, while the number to the US and Canada fell by 11.8 percent.