Flight operations are slowly being restored at Hong Kong International Airport as of Aug. 14 as the Airport Authority obtained a temporary injunction which prohibits people from demonstrating or interfering with operations at the airport.
New security measures are now in place which include, restricting who can enter the airport. All passengers are required to show their passports and boarding passes while airline workers are required to present their airport permits or company IDs. Travelers need to allow extra time to transit to/from and through the airport. Reports indicate that the Airport Express train, which normally runs every 12 minutes is operating at 25-minute intervals. Once at the airport, passengers should expect long lines to enter the facility while documents are checked.
Airlines are working to restore operations but there were still cancelled and delayed flights on Aug. 14. Some schedule disruptions are expected on Aug. 15 and possibly beyond. Many airlines are opening their ticket counters earlier than normal and are asking passengers to arrive early.
Airlines including American, British Airways, KLM and United are offering waivers through Aug. 15.
Cathay Pacific is offering waivers through Aug. 16
Elsewhere around the city, visitors should be extremely vigilant incase new protests erupt.
Last week, the United States issued a travel warning over Hong Kong’s ongoing protests. The advice urges travelers to exercise a high degree of caution as previous demonstrations in Hong Kong have turned confrontational and sometimes even violent. Other countries offering similar advice include Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and Singapore. Neither the U.S. nor any of these other countries are not yet advising visitors to avoid Hong Kong altogether.
Please contact your Adelman travel consultant for additional information.