Chek Lap Kok was a sea of red suitcases on the morning of February 14 as families and tour groups queued for flights out of Hong Kong at the start of the nine-day Lunar New Year break. Immigration Department forecasts show 636,000 outbound land and air travellers on Saturday alone, part of an estimated 11.38 million passenger movements between February 14 and 23.
Airlines added extra sectors to Sydney, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, yet check-in queues still snaked through the Terminal 1 concourse before dawn. Many holiday-makers arrived four hours early; some brought collapsible stools. One couple heading for a self-drive trip along Australia’s Gold Coast told RTHK they had budgeted HK $60,000 after noticing festive-season fares were 40 percent higher than average.
For anyone juggling last-minute paperwork before departure, VisaHQ can simplify the process. The platform lets travellers and corporate mobility teams secure visas, electronic travel authorisations, and even health declarations for destinations worldwide—saving precious airport time. Explore the options tailored for Hong Kong residents here: https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/
![Lunar New Year exodus: 636,000 expected to depart Hong Kong today as airport lines lengthen]()
To cope, the Airport Authority has activated all 229 check-in counters and converted part of the arrivals hall into temporary security lanes. Additional “Holiday Ambassadors” armed with iPads are helping travellers fill out digital departure cards for destinations such as South Korea that now require health declarations.
The Immigration Department has frozen discretionary leave for front-line officers and warns that February 22 is likely to be the heaviest return-travel day, with 663,000 arrivals predicted. Corporations operating fly-in maintenance or project crews should plan for possible standby delays and remind assignees to allow extra transit time.
Despite the crowds, operations remained orderly by midday. If today’s flow passes smoothly, officials believe the airport can comfortably handle the 80,000-per-hour peaks anticipated once the third-runway concourse is fully commissioned next year.
Airlines added extra sectors to Sydney, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, yet check-in queues still snaked through the Terminal 1 concourse before dawn. Many holiday-makers arrived four hours early; some brought collapsible stools. One couple heading for a self-drive trip along Australia’s Gold Coast told RTHK they had budgeted HK $60,000 after noticing festive-season fares were 40 percent higher than average.
For anyone juggling last-minute paperwork before departure, VisaHQ can simplify the process. The platform lets travellers and corporate mobility teams secure visas, electronic travel authorisations, and even health declarations for destinations worldwide—saving precious airport time. Explore the options tailored for Hong Kong residents here: https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/
To cope, the Airport Authority has activated all 229 check-in counters and converted part of the arrivals hall into temporary security lanes. Additional “Holiday Ambassadors” armed with iPads are helping travellers fill out digital departure cards for destinations such as South Korea that now require health declarations.
The Immigration Department has frozen discretionary leave for front-line officers and warns that February 22 is likely to be the heaviest return-travel day, with 663,000 arrivals predicted. Corporations operating fly-in maintenance or project crews should plan for possible standby delays and remind assignees to allow extra transit time.
Despite the crowds, operations remained orderly by midday. If today’s flow passes smoothly, officials believe the airport can comfortably handle the 80,000-per-hour peaks anticipated once the third-runway concourse is fully commissioned next year.
