Revamped Terminal 2 to uplift Hong Kong’s aviation hub status: Airport Authority

The expanded second passenger terminal at Hong Kong International Airport will be crucial to the city’s role as a global aviation hub, with its departure concourse set to open at the end of next year, the managing authority has said. The Airport Authority said on Friday that Terminal 2 would open on May 27 and travellers would check in, clear immigration and undergo security checks before proceeding to Terminal 1 for departure. The dedicated departure concourse and boarding gates were slated to open at the end of next year, it added. Authority chairman Fred Lam Tin-fuk described Terminal 2 as “a new milestone” in the airport’s development, prioritising efficiency and passenger comfort. “We believe that Terminal 2 can divert departing flights efficiently to welcome passengers during the summer holiday,” Lam said, adding that the authority would turn the airport into “Skytopia”, a megadevelopment offering experiences that spanned land, water and air. Acting financial secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said the government would continue to pursue multiple measures to ensure Hong Kong’s role as a global aviation hub. The measures included speeding up the aviation network’s expansion, improving transport chains in the Greater Bay Area, developing the overarching Airport City and integrating into the national plan, Wong explained. Terminal 2 was reconfigured as part of the airport’s HK$141.5 billion (US$18.1 billion) three-runway system upgrade aimed at expanding capacity and improving efficiency amid strong regional competition. “Terminal 2 is very important … because it provides extra capacity for us,” said Steven Yiu Siu-chung, the authority’s executive director of airport operations. The terminal is expected to handle about 8 million passenger trips in its first year of operation. The entire airport accommodated 61 million passenger trips in 2025. Yiu noted that before the Covid-19 pandemic, the airport handled about 70 million passenger trips annually, close to Terminal 1’s maximum capacity. Once fully operational, Terminal 2 will be able to handle 30 million passenger trips every year. “This is very crucial to Hong Kong’s competitiveness,” he said. Yiu added that travellers transferring to Terminal 1 for boarding and departure would not have to factor in additional time as the new terminal’s “one-stop-shop services” would allow them to get to security areas in “two to three minutes”. Fifteen local and regional low-cost carriers will move into the terminal between May 27 and June 10. Hong Kong Airlines will be the first to relocate from Terminal 1. The others are HK Express and Greater Bay Airlines, as well as regional ones such as AirAsia, Batik Air (Malaysia), Hainan Airlines, Philippines AirAsia, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air, Cambodia Airways, IndiGo, VietJet Air, Bangkok Airways, Jeju Air and Cebu Pacific. According to the authority, 29 bus routes will connect to Terminal 2, while motorists can use the directly connected Car Park 3, which offers hourly, daily and long-term parking with about 1,000 spaces, including 81 charging stations. The new terminal will have 108 airline check-in counters for passengers needing staff help, 58 smart kiosks for self-check-in and baggage tag printing, and 68 self-bag-drop counters, supporting smartphone-enabled services. After completing check-in, security and immigration checks at Terminal 2, passengers must take an automated people mover to the boarding gates at Terminal 1. However, they will have to walk during hours when the mover is not in service, between 12.30am and 5.30am. There are 25 shopping and dining options in Terminal 2, including four 24-hour restaurants: McDonald’s, Jollibee, Milk Cafe and Yukimura. The expanded terminal will also include nursing rooms, charging stations and access to shops and lounges, including 24-hour pay-in ones with showers, as well as a “Caring Corner” for passengers with special needs. A large connecting commercial project, 11 Skies, has also been built, but the authority earlier told the South China Morning Post that the space would not open until 2028. It was previously scheduled to launch in phases between 2022 and 2025. Angela Lee, a retired resident who visited Terminal 2 with her husband, said it was “fancier” than Terminal 1. “I felt the new terminal looked more spacious,” the 74-year-old said. “It’s important for elderly people like us to get familiar with new facilities for the next trip.”

Revamped Terminal 2 to uplift Hong Kong’s aviation hub status: Airport Authority

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chairman Fred Lam describes facility as ‘milestone’ in airport’s development, prioritising efficiency and user experience

Chairman Fred Lam describes facility as ‘milestone’ in airport’s development, prioritising efficiency and user experience