National Immigration Administration flags record May-Day flows at Hong Kong-linked land ports

China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) on Tuesday projected that cross-border passenger volumes during the 1–5 May holiday will average 2.25 million per day and could exceed 2.4 million on the busiest day—levels not seen since 2019. While the headline figure covers every international airport and land crossing nationwide, the NIA singled out the Greater Bay Area as the epicentre: Shenzhen’s Luohu port is forecast at 230,000 daily travellers, Zhuhai’s Gongbei port at 396,000, and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) port at 129,000. The agency warned provincial border stations to “prepare for extreme peaks”, and confirmed that extra counters, mobile inspection vehicles and flexible lane switching will be activated. For Hong Kong businesses, the numbers translate into tangible pressure at connecting checkpoints—particularly Luohu, which feeds directly into Lo Wu Station on the Hong Kong side, and the HZMB, a favoured route for air-cargo shuttles and executive roadshows between Hong Kong and Macao-Zhuhai industrial parks. Cross-boundary coach operators have already begun dynamic pricing, with some HZMB shuttle seats for 2 May quoted 40 percent higher than mid-week fares.



One practical workaround for travellers who find themselves needing rapid visa renewals or additional entry permits amid the bottleneck is to outsource the paperwork. VisaHQ’s Hong Kong office (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) provides an end-to-end digital service that checks documents, books expedited appointments and tracks approvals in real time, helping passengers clear immigration smoothly even when counters are overwhelmed.

Airlines are also bracing: Cathay Pacific and Greater Bay Airlines tell clients they have held contingency crew in reserve in case knock-on delays from Mainland ATC slot congestion spill into Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) arrival banks. The NIA report attributes the surge to pent-up outbound demand, a more liberal Mainland visa-free policy covering 50 countries, and staggered “spring break” holidays in several Chinese provinces that have lengthened the travel window. It further notes that Southeast Asian routes are tracking 30 percent ahead of last year, a data point that aligns with Hong Kong carriers’ aggressive capacity growth into Thailand and Vietnam. Mobility teams managing Greater Bay assignments should therefore treat 29 April through 7 May as a high-risk period for missed connections and factor in higher transport costs. Where possible, employers may wish to postpone non-essential rotational moves or schedule staff to cross outside the expected lunchtime and early-evening peaks.