Hong Kong borders are open, so why aren’t mainland Chinese visitors flying in? Airlines slow to increase flights, airport facing staff crunch

So far, most mainland tourists have been arriving by ferry, coach or high-speed rail from Greater Bay Area

Airlines need time to get planes back in service, ramp up manpower and training, arrange ground services

Reading Time:4 minutes

The recovery of air travel between Hong Kong and the mainland had been below expectations so far, according to one industry head. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 9:00am, 3 Apr 2023

Hong Kong International Airport’s labour woes and the slow recovery of flights are being blamed for the low number of mainland Chinese visitors from beyond the Greater Bay Area since borders opened fully in February.

So far, most mainlanders have been arriving by ferry, coach or high-speed rail.

For those in the travel industry, the big question is how quickly airlines can restore services and meet mainland demand.

Low flight frequency from Hong Kong to wider mainland destinations has been blamed for a lack of visitors from up north. Photo: Yik Yeung -man

The daily average arrival figure from the mainland in March, at 63,000, was under half that of pre-pandemic levels. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways, meanwhile, is only operating at two-thirds of its 2019 mark for seat capacity to the mainland, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Tommy Tam Kwong-shun, chairman of the Society of IATA Passenger Agents, said the recovery of air travel between Hong Kong and the mainland had been below expectations so far.

“One important factor is that ground-handling services at our airport can only be provided on a very small scale now due to insufficient staff,” he said.

Some passengers were flying to Shenzhen or even Guangzhou and then using other forms of transport, such as coach or high-speed rail, to travel to Hong Kong, he added.

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Hong Kong borders are open, so why aren’t mainland Chinese visitors flying in? Airlines slow to increase flights, airport facing staff crunch

So far, most mainland tourists have been arriving by ferry, coach or high-speed rail from Greater Bay Area Airlines need time to get planes back in service, ramp up manpower and training, arrange ground services

So far, most mainland tourists have been arriving by ferry, coach or high-speed rail from Greater Bay Area

Airlines need time to get planes back in service, ramp up manpower and training, arrange ground services