Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) quietly dropped a Chinese-New-Year bombshell on 17 February, confirming that the long-awaited departure facilities in the expanded Terminal 2 (T2) at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) will open for passengers on 27 May 2026.
The announcement, made by AAHK chairman Fred Lam alongside Secretary for Transport & Logistics Mable Chan during lunar-new-year celebrations at the airport, marks the first major capacity boost to Hong Kong’s gateway since the pandemic. T2—which until now has functioned mainly as a check-in annex—has been rebuilt as a full service terminal physically linked to the Airport Express station and Terminal 1. Fifteen mostly regional airlines will migrate to the new hall in phases, giving them access to a next-generation smart-check-in zone with more than 50 automated bag-drop counters, biometric boarding gates and a re-engineered security-screening process designed to move 3,000 passengers per hour.
AAHK says the timing is deliberate: May traditionally kicks off the summer peak, when outbound Hong Kong residents, returning foreign students and Greater Bay Area travellers converge on Chek Lap Kok. By splitting traffic between two departure halls, airport planners expect to reclaim roughly 20 per cent of air-side gate capacity and shorten kerb-to-gate times on the heaviest days. The opening is also a critical milestone in HKIA’s HK $141 billion Three-Runway-System expansion, which promises handling capacity of 120 million passengers a year by 2035.
![Hong Kong Airport Confirms Terminal 2 Departure Hall Will Open on 27 May 2026]()
As companies prepare for the operational shift, they should also review visa and travel-document policies for staff who will be funneling through the revamped facilities. VisaHQ’s Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers a streamlined dashboard where travel managers can instantly check entry rules, initiate e-visa applications and arrange passport courier services in one workflow—helping ensure employees clear immigration as smoothly as they navigate T2’s new security lanes.
For corporate mobility managers the upgrade offers immediate, practical benefits. Regional carriers operating out of T2 will enjoy lower operating charges for the first 24 months as an incentive to relocate, savings that airlines say they will channel into restoring frequencies and adding new destinations such as Penang, Da Nang and Fukuoka—all popular manufacturing or sourcing hubs for Hong Kong-based multinationals. The new Coach Hall, which opened in September 2025 and is integrated into T2, already provides 41 bays for cross-boundary coaches linking 110 Greater Bay Area cities, making same-day factory visits on the mainland more realistic without an overnight stay.
Ahead of the May switch-on, AAHK has launched a three-month familiarisation programme that includes tabletop business-continuity drills for corporate travel teams. Companies with large volumes of short-haul travel are being advised to update traveller itineraries, ride-share pick-up points and employee handbooks to reflect the new check-in and security flows. Those that rely on meet-and-greet services should note that T2 has its own kerbside arrival area, separate immigration counters and a dedicated Airport Express platform entrance.
The announcement, made by AAHK chairman Fred Lam alongside Secretary for Transport & Logistics Mable Chan during lunar-new-year celebrations at the airport, marks the first major capacity boost to Hong Kong’s gateway since the pandemic. T2—which until now has functioned mainly as a check-in annex—has been rebuilt as a full service terminal physically linked to the Airport Express station and Terminal 1. Fifteen mostly regional airlines will migrate to the new hall in phases, giving them access to a next-generation smart-check-in zone with more than 50 automated bag-drop counters, biometric boarding gates and a re-engineered security-screening process designed to move 3,000 passengers per hour.
AAHK says the timing is deliberate: May traditionally kicks off the summer peak, when outbound Hong Kong residents, returning foreign students and Greater Bay Area travellers converge on Chek Lap Kok. By splitting traffic between two departure halls, airport planners expect to reclaim roughly 20 per cent of air-side gate capacity and shorten kerb-to-gate times on the heaviest days. The opening is also a critical milestone in HKIA’s HK $141 billion Three-Runway-System expansion, which promises handling capacity of 120 million passengers a year by 2035.
As companies prepare for the operational shift, they should also review visa and travel-document policies for staff who will be funneling through the revamped facilities. VisaHQ’s Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers a streamlined dashboard where travel managers can instantly check entry rules, initiate e-visa applications and arrange passport courier services in one workflow—helping ensure employees clear immigration as smoothly as they navigate T2’s new security lanes.
For corporate mobility managers the upgrade offers immediate, practical benefits. Regional carriers operating out of T2 will enjoy lower operating charges for the first 24 months as an incentive to relocate, savings that airlines say they will channel into restoring frequencies and adding new destinations such as Penang, Da Nang and Fukuoka—all popular manufacturing or sourcing hubs for Hong Kong-based multinationals. The new Coach Hall, which opened in September 2025 and is integrated into T2, already provides 41 bays for cross-boundary coaches linking 110 Greater Bay Area cities, making same-day factory visits on the mainland more realistic without an overnight stay.
Ahead of the May switch-on, AAHK has launched a three-month familiarisation programme that includes tabletop business-continuity drills for corporate travel teams. Companies with large volumes of short-haul travel are being advised to update traveller itineraries, ride-share pick-up points and employee handbooks to reflect the new check-in and security flows. Those that rely on meet-and-greet services should note that T2 has its own kerbside arrival area, separate immigration counters and a dedicated Airport Express platform entrance.
