Hong Kong Intl Airport (HKG) Flights & Information

Hong Kong International Airport is one of the world’s best for overall efficiency and passenger experience. It’s a joy to fly through, even if immigration lines can sometimes get long. The airport’s name is sometimes abbreviated to HKIA or even called by its IATA code: HKG. Either way, I can only recommend it. Not least because it’s also very quick and easy to get to and from.

Terminal layout & finding your way around

HKG has just one mega-terminal. The airport is basically one very long, continuous building containing gates, check-in, security and immigration, plus two easily-reached satellite concourses with additional gates.

But don’t let that alarm you – despite being enormous it is exceedingly intuitive to move through and around. It is worth making a note of your gate number after check-in though, and making sure you allow enough time to get there if it’s in one of the more distant piers.

Should you walk or take the People Mover?

It’s easily possible to walk to most of the gates at HKG, except for the Midfield Concourse (gates in the 200-range), where you’ll need to get the Automated People Mover train. It runs frequently throughout the airport, and is a great option for those who can’t or would prefer not to take a brisk walk through the airport. Personally I love doing the stroll down the gates.

Transit passengers

For those of you connecting through HKG, it’s very well set up to handle that. Once you arrive you just follow signs for “transit passengers.” Then you show your onward boarding pass (if you don’t have one yet, there are transfer desks), re-clear security, and you’ll be let out upstairs in the departures area.

Airlines & destinations

The number of airlines and destinations served from HKG is staggering. The home carrier, Cathay Pacific, offers over 200 destinations out of HKG. Then there are the other local carriers HK Express, Greater Bay Airlines and Hong Kong Airlines. They mostly serve cities around Asia on a low-cost model.

Beyond that, just about every major airline maintains service here from cities around the world, some with multiple daily frequencies. For example there are six daily flights to London Heathrow (BA and CX) and five a day to Los Angeles (CX and UA). It’s a well-connected place, to say the least.

Security

Security checks at HKG are a fairly standard experience, but usually quick and easy. Helping things along are new advanced screening machines that allow you to leave everything inside your bags including liquids, which speeds things up and reduces stress. As always there can be queues here and there, but this is generally well run and efficient.

Tip: there is both a North and South departures, each with its own security check, so if one is very busy it could be worth checking whether the other is less so.

Passport control

These days while a lot of inbound immigration checks are still done by a person, when departing HKG many passport holders will be able to use the e-Gates which just require scanning the passport and getting a photo taken. It’s a much quicker system and makes the departures process that much easier.

Shopping & dining

Hong Kong Airport has quite a lot of options for shopping and eating at the terminal before your flight. There’s the usual range of duty free and high-end name brand stores, of course. Plus newsagents, pharmacies and just about everything else you’d expect. There’s also a Monocle shop, an outlet of the London-based media brand – a unique airport shopping experience for sure.

As for dining, whether you want xiao long bao or Burger King you’ll find it here, both before and after security. For those of you on a low-cost flight who want to get onboard well-stocked with food, I’d recommend checking out the Gordon Ramsey “Plane Food to Go” outlet, in the food court.

Lounges

HKG is home to some really fantastic lounges, mostly thanks to Cathay Pacific which offers several. Cathay’s The Pier First Class lounge (which is also open to oneworld emerald elites flying any oneworld airline) is one of my favorite lounges in the world. In fact each of Cathay’s lounges has a different look and feel, so if you have some time here lounge hopping among them can be pretty fun.

Another standout lounge is the Qantas Hong Kong lounge, which can be a great place to escape the crowds if you have oneworld elite status – because most people head to the Cathay lounges. It has good food and a nice bar.

Otherwise there are a number of contract lounges, a handful of other airline lounges, an Amex Centurion lounge as well as the newest addition, a Chase Sapphire lounge. The latter is open to holders of high-end Chase cards but also Priority Pass members, and among the contract lounges at HKG I think it’s the best.

Getting to and from HKG

You’ll have a very easy time getting in and out of the city from this airport, with a variety of options to choose from.

Taxi & Uber

Taxis (and Ubers) are plentiful and relatively cheap in Hong Kong, though with the Airport Express train being fast and frequent, I almost never take them. It takes a little bit longer by car into town than on the train unless you’re heading far out of the central parts of HK.

Train

The Airport Express is a fantastic train service which takes 24 minutes between the terminal and central HK. It also stops at Tsing Yi and Kowloon. What I usually do if I have luggage or I’m feeling a little lazy is take the Express to Central and then catch a quick taxi from there to my hotel. That’s a nice blend of convenience and low cost.

But if you want to take the MTR (metro) onward from Hong Kong Station and keep it all on public transport, that’s also straightforward. You should know that it can mean a somewhat long walk to get between trains, but it’s completely doable and easy to find your way.

Bus

There are a number of buses that will take you from HKG to different locations around Hong Kong and in some cases this can be a more convenient option to get directly to your destination without having to change to another train or bus at Hong Kong or Kowloon stations. The double decker buses also offer nice views, so although this is a bit slower than the train, it can be a nice option.

HKG to mainland China & Macau

Mainland China and Macau are connected by fast ferry to HKIA. It’s a very convenient option to avoid having to enter Hong Kong first before connecting to a ferry. You can also get a direct bus service to the mainland and Macau as a transit passenger – without having to clear Hong Kong immigration.

In-town check-in

A number of airlines have check-in counters at Hong Kong station in the center of town, which can be a great added convenience if you want to get your luggage checked in after, for example, checking out of your hotel when your flight doesn’t leave until later. It’s something I wish more cities had!

Things to do during a layover

Hong Kong is the ideal layover city because it’s so quick and easy to get in and out of the city and the airport runs so efficiently you never really need to worry about crowding delaying you much at check-in, security or immigration. With that in mind, there’s so much you can go do in between flights at HKG.

The airport is located on Lantau Island which is close to both great nature and some popular attractions. The nature is probably the more interesting option because few people think of hiking when they think of the urban jungle of Hong Kong. But there’s so much of it here, and Lantau even has some truly outstanding beaches that require a sometimes challenging hike to get to. So if you’re into that sort of thing definitely look into your options because there are many.

With a longer layover you should certainly get into the city – pick from some of the most population-dense city streets in the world on the Kowloon side or the glitzier Hong Kong island side. Both will have you fully immersed in Hong Kong magic immediately so you won’t have to look far to get a real taste of the place.

This is one place where I’d happily hop into town for a while with no real plan, just wandering around and seeing what I find. It’s so compact and full of life that you can barely go wrong. It can be nice to stroll around Central and surroundings before heading up to the Peak via the Peak Tram (more touristy but quick) or double-decker bus (more local and with thrilling views on the way up too).