Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has turned part of Terminal 2’s coach hall into a fully-fledged polling station for the territory’s Legislative Council election, giving travellers the unprecedented ability to cast a ballot literally on the way to—or from—their flight. According to Airport Authority Hong Kong’s 14:00 press release on December 7, pre-registered voters who are either flying out, flying in, or rostered to work air-side can stop at the so-called Near-Boundary Polling Station (NBPS) to vote before clearing immigration or after reclaiming baggage.
The arrangement is designed to remove a long-standing obstacle for Hong Kong residents whose business travel schedules often collide with election day. In previous cycles, frequent flyers either rushed downtown to designated advance polling stations or forfeited their vote entirely. By situating the booth inside the restricted area and linking it to the Immigration e-Channel system, the government can confirm each traveller’s departure or arrival time in real time, ensuring one-person-one-vote integrity without delaying aircraft turn-rounds.
![Hong Kong International Airport Opens First-Ever Air-side Polling Station for Departing & Arriving Voters]()
Practically, the NBPS sits outside sterile departure security; voters present a boarding pass and Hong Kong Identity Card, cast a paper ballot, then proceed through passport control as normal. Arriving passengers use the reverse flow. Airport staff have been allowed flexible shifts, and dedicated shuttle buses ferry ground handlers and airline crews from remote stands to the booth.
For multinational companies operating regional hubs in Hong Kong, the move removes the compliance headache of juggling employee voting time with duty rosters. HR managers can now encourage staff to vote without rewriting flight schedules. It also signals that future elections—district, LegCo or even Chief Executive—could routinely feature air-side voting, something expatriate associations have lobbied for since 2019.
The initiative underscores Hong Kong’s effort to brand itself as a ‘seamless city’ for both travel and civic participation. If the model proves smooth, officials say similar NBPS facilities could be built at the new SkyCity cruise terminal and West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus, giving cross-border business travellers the same convenience.
The arrangement is designed to remove a long-standing obstacle for Hong Kong residents whose business travel schedules often collide with election day. In previous cycles, frequent flyers either rushed downtown to designated advance polling stations or forfeited their vote entirely. By situating the booth inside the restricted area and linking it to the Immigration e-Channel system, the government can confirm each traveller’s departure or arrival time in real time, ensuring one-person-one-vote integrity without delaying aircraft turn-rounds.
Practically, the NBPS sits outside sterile departure security; voters present a boarding pass and Hong Kong Identity Card, cast a paper ballot, then proceed through passport control as normal. Arriving passengers use the reverse flow. Airport staff have been allowed flexible shifts, and dedicated shuttle buses ferry ground handlers and airline crews from remote stands to the booth.
For multinational companies operating regional hubs in Hong Kong, the move removes the compliance headache of juggling employee voting time with duty rosters. HR managers can now encourage staff to vote without rewriting flight schedules. It also signals that future elections—district, LegCo or even Chief Executive—could routinely feature air-side voting, something expatriate associations have lobbied for since 2019.
The initiative underscores Hong Kong’s effort to brand itself as a ‘seamless city’ for both travel and civic participation. If the model proves smooth, officials say similar NBPS facilities could be built at the new SkyCity cruise terminal and West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus, giving cross-border business travellers the same convenience.
