Airport Passenger Terminal Buildings

General travellers have to check-in at the Terminal Buildings before boarding their flights.

The Airport Passenger Terminal Buildings (機場客運大樓) are an important passenger facility at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), which are used for checking in and out of flights, as well as facilitating passengers' transfer to and from the urban area by air and land transport.

There are currently two multi-functional passenger terminals at the airport, all managed by the Airport Authority Hong Kong:

• Terminal 1: Located at 1 Cheong Tat Road, Chek Lap Kok Island, Islands District, New Territories, with a site area of 570,000 square metres;
• Terminal 2: located at Sky Plaza Road, Chek Lap Kok Island, Islands District, New Territories, with a site area of 140,000 square metres (decommissioned with effect from 29 November 2019)

The Ground Transportation Centre (GTC) on the ground level of Cheong Lin Road is sandwiched between the two passenger terminals and is easily accessible from both.

History

Terminal 1

Before the opening of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), the only civil airport in Hong Kong was the Kai Tak Airport located in the urban Kowloon area, and in 1989, the then Governor of Hong Kong, Sir David Wilson, announced the launch of the Hong Kong Airport Core Programme (HKACP) in his Policy Address, which led to the approval of the construction of the new Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) at Chek Lap Kok.

The eight-storey Passenger Terminal Building (PTB), with a total area of 550,000 square metres, was the largest single building in Hong Kong at that time, situated at the northeast corner of the airport island. Designed with a glass curtain wall, the Passenger Terminal Building was designed for the convenience of travellers and was the brainchild of British architect Sir Norman Foster, and in early 1995, BCJ, a joint venture between China State Construction International Group (CSIG) and a consortium of British, Japanese and Hong Kong architectural firms, was awarded the contract for the Passenger Terminal Building, with a total contract value of more than HK$10.1 billion, making it the largest single contract in Hong Kong's history.

On 29 April 1998, a Level 3 fire broke out at the Passenger Terminal Building site, with smoke suddenly emanating from the electrical room of the baggage transfer area on the 6th floor at about 9:30 pm. The fire was reported to the Fire Services Department (FSD), which found that the fire was spreading and was upgraded to a Level 3 fire 16 minutes later. Fortunately, there were no casualties and no structural damage to the building, which did not affect the opening of the new airport on 6 July of the same year.

To cater for the needs of airport passengers, a 30,000-square-metre shopping mall, named "Hong Kong SkyMart" (香港機場購物中心) by the AA, has been set up in the Terminal Building. There are more than 100 shops and 25 restaurants on the restricted and non-restricted floors of the Terminal Building, of which 90% were able to open for business at the same time on the day of the airport's opening and at the initial stage of operation, the shopping centre has attracted a lot of visitors and tour groups to the airport. During the initial period of operation, the Passenger Terminal Building was crowded with people and tour groups visiting the airport during the initial period of operation.

The Northwest Passenger Concourse of the Terminal opened on 20 January 2001, 18 months after the opening of the Airport. The HK$2.1 billion Northwest Passenger Terminal is about 300 metres long with 11 boarding bridges and 34,000 square metres of floor space, increasing the total floor space of the terminal to 550,000 square metres, making it the world's largest passenger terminal at that time.

SkyPlaza in plan

In 2001, the Airport Authority put forward the "Hong Kong International Airport Development Plan 2020" to develop a "SkyCity" as a commercial support facility for the airport to meet the market demand for a business district at the airport. In April of the following year, the AA announced the details of the plan. SkyCity covers an area of 57 hectares, with the central "SkyPlaza" (航天廣場) mainly serving tour groups and passengers travelling to and from Mainland China, with a 30,000-square-metre retail mall on the lower level of the plaza, and the podium connecting to the Airport Express station with a group passenger check-in counter and a spacious coach terminal, while four eight-storey commercial towers will be built on the podium.

In addition, the AsiaWorld-Expo, the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel and the SkyPier, a permanent cross-boundary ferry terminal, would also stand in the SkyCity, and the new pier will be connected to the two passenger terminals by the Automated People Mover System. As it takes time to plan and develop the SkyCity, the land above the APM tunnel was also utilised for the development of a temporary golf course. At that time, the AA described the SkyPlaza not only as a transport infrastructure, but also as a catalyst for economic and trade activities, which would further strengthen HKIA's position as a premier international aviation and logistics hub. Since April 2002, AA has been accepting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from developers for the development of the SkyPlaza, which closed on 20 June.

Taking into account the growth of visitors to Hong Kong Disneyland after its opening in 2005, AA modified the design of the SkyPlaza by adding airline check-in counters and constructing two office buildings, one of which will be the AA Headquarters building. With a total investment of $2 billion, the design contract for the SkyPlaza was awarded on 16 June 2003 and the construction contract was awarded immediately after in late 2004, making it the largest single contract awarded by the AA since the opening of the airport; the construction began in December 2004 and was topped out 9 months later.

The initial plan for the SkyPlaza is to provide 56 airline check-in counters, which will eventually be doubled to 112 in response to demand, with facilities for customs, immigration and security clearance. The SkyPlaza will also have an extended automated people mover (APM) system connecting the existing Terminal Building to the SkyPlaza Terminal and a cross-boundary coach station, as well as a bus stop for the Airport-to-Disneyland connecting route. The AA expects the whole project to open in mid-2006, and for the first time, it has explicitly stated that the SkyPlaza, which is located to the east of the original Terminal 1, will become the Second Passenger Terminal.

SkyPlaza in action

The 140,000-square-metre, six-storey SkyPlaza, with its silver-white streamlined façade, is expected to attract an average of about 500,000 visitors per day, in addition to various airport facilities, as well as 120 retail outlets, 20 restaurants in the SkyPlaza's SkyPlaza Gallery and four themed entertainment zones on the sixth floor of the building, which are equipped with leisure and entertainment facilities, such as a simulated aviation cab, an aerospace museum, a bowling alley and a 4D three-dimensional cinema. It is expected to attract an average of about 500,000 visitors per day. However, some LegCo members criticised the AA for "overstepping its boundaries" by operating commercial projects, which is tantamount to "competing with the people for profits".

After Christmas 2005, the AA announced that the SkyPlaza would have a "Passenger Terminal 2", which would include office buildings, retail shops, restaurants and leisure facilities, and was expected to open in 2006. According to the AA, the airport shopping arcade in the original Terminal 1 is more upmarket, while the SkyPlaza is marketed as a trendy and new concept, and is planned to be divided into eight thematic zones, including: Cooking & Food Court, Hong Kong Boulevard, Globe Handicrafts Street, Cultural Extravaganza, Trend Terminal, Glamour Boulevard, Children's Kingdom and Private Road of the Future, with the aim of providing a brand new airport experience for travellers, airport transfers and airport staff.

Terminal 2

In autumn 2006, the AA announced that the SkyPlaza would soon be completed, and that the project would be named "Terminal 2" upon completion, and was expected to open at Christmas of the same year. The dining and entertainment facilities of Terminal 2 are scheduled to commence operation in phases from 1 February of the following year, while the outbound passenger facilities will commence operation in early March, with no inbound facilities.

On 1 June 2007, nearly three months after the full opening of Terminal 2, the then Chief Executive Donald Tsang believed that the new terminal would help boost Hong Kong's tourism industry. However, only a small number of airlines had set up counters in Terminal 2 during the initial period of commissioning, and some commercial tenants complained that the low patronage had affected their business. At that time, AA said that it would offer rental concessions to alleviate their burden.

As for the Aviation Discovery Centre, which is also operated by a cinema operator to introduce aviation knowledge and the history of Hong Kong's aviation industry to visitors, and the Airport Observation Deck on the top floor of Terminal 2, they have been criticised over the years for insufficient publicity and dilapidated exhibits, which are unattractive to visitors and have attracted fewer visitors.

To tie in with the three-runway system project, Passenger Terminal 2 will be closed from 29 November 2019 for expansion works, including the provision of additional immigration facilities, and is expected to reopen in 2024, when the entire three-runway system project will also be commissioned at the same time.

Traveller Direction Signages

Travellers entering the terminal building will see a series of signs with white letters on a dark blue background, a colour specially developed by airport designer Sir Norman Foster for the Hong Kong International Airport, "HKIA BLUE".

The Airport Authority (AA) said that it had received feedback from travellers in the past that the lettering of the signage was not clear enough and that there were too many red signs to distinguish important information, so it carried out a signage replacement project from September to November 2015, covering Passenger Terminals 1 and 2, the North Satellite Concourse and the SkyPier.

The signage after revamping guides travellers to different bus boarding zones inside different terminals

The font of the Chinese characters on the updated signage has been changed back to Mona Black, which is the original font used. Compared with the previous standard Song font, the strokes in Mona Black are more even and conspicuous, and the spacing of the lines has been increased to bring the size of the Chinese and English characters closer together, making them look more symmetrical, and improving the perception of the previous signage which was "densely-packed" with characters.

Regarding the use of colours, some travellers have reflected that there are too many signs with red backgrounds, rather than blue for the main messages. The new signage is divided into three colours, each representing three different types of information. Mainstream information, such as pick-up halls and toilets, will be indicated in white letters on a blue background; important information, such as boarding gates, were indicated in yellow letters on a blue background; and auxiliary information, such as restaurants and shops, were indicated in white letters on a red background.

The bus route information for Ground Transportation Centre sticked at the Arrivals level of the Terminal Building (August 2017)

The bus route information for Ground Transportation Centre set up by the Airport Authority (AA) (August 2017)

Bus Termini and Bus Stops

There are a number of bus termini in the Passenger Terminal Building for passengers travelling to and from the city by airport bus:

• Ground Transportation Centre Bus Terminus: Located on the ground level of the Ground Transportation Centre, opposite Passenger Terminal 1, this is the largest franchised bus terminal within the Hong Kong International Airport area, where passengers can take buses to all major districts in Hong Kong;
• Coach Station, Terminal 2: Located on Level 3 of Terminal 2, mainly coaches and airport staff coaches; the terminus of DBTSL Route DB02R and Park Island-bound Resident Bus Route NR334, which are no longer in use;
• Coach Station, Car Park 1: located at the side of Car Park 1 on Cheong Tat Road, adjacent to Terminal 1.

There are several bus stops alogside the Airport Passenger Terminal Buildings for the convenience of tourists:

Bus Stop Locations
Article Name	Location	Citybus Naming	LWB Naming	NLB Naming
Terminal 1 (Cheong Hong Road)	The highest level of the Ground Transportation Centre, Cheong Hong Road "Departures Kerb", outside Terminal 1	Airport (Terminal One)	Terminal 1	／
Car Park One	Cheong Tat Road outside Car Park One Opposite to Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) Bus Terminus	Car Park One	Car Park One, Cheong Tat Road	／
Terminal 1 (South)	Cheong Tat Road outside Terminal 1 Slant opposite to Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) Bus Terminus	Terminal 1 (South)	Terminal 1 (South), Cheong Tat Road	Airport (Passenger Terminal Building)
Terminal 1 (North)	Cheong Tat Road outside Terminal 1 Opposite to taxi stand	Terminal 1 (North)	Terminal 1 (North), Cheong Tat Road	Cheong Tat Road
North Satellite Concourse	North of Terminal 1 (within Airport Restricted Area)	/
Terminal 2 (Sky Plaza Road)	5/F, Terminal 2, Sky Plaza Road outside Traveller Registration Hall	Airport (Terminal Two)	Terminal 2	/
		(Decommissioned since 29 November 2019)
Car Park 4	11 Cheong Tat Road outside Car Park 4	Car Park 4 (Decommissioned since 30 March 2017)

Bus Stopping Arrangements

Terminal 1

The bus stop for Airbus Routes ("A" Routes) is just a few steps away from the Terminal 1

To facilitate direct access to the Departure Level, a "Departures Kerb" has been provided at Cheong Hong Road outside Terminal 1, which provides all passengers with direct access to the Departure Hall via a number of gently sloping ramps immediately after alighting from their vehicles. Franchised bus routes passing through this area include all Cityflyer routes and Long Win (LWB) Airbus Routes ("A" Routes), as well as LWB Route E41.

For the remaining North Lantau External Bus Routes ("E" Routes) and NLB Route A35 passing through Terminal 1, the drop-off point is located outside the Cheong Tat Road outside Car Park 1, near the Ground Transportation Centre (GTC) Taxi Stand or the GTC Bus Terminus, and passengers will need to use the ramps or lifts to access the Departure Hall on Level 7.

Future Developments

The Airport Authority (AA) is implementing a series of enhancement projects to ensure that the airport has sufficient capacity to meet demand in the short to medium term before the commissioning of the Third Runway system. In June 2017, the AA announced a $7 billion expansion of Passenger Terminal 1, which will open on 29 November 2019, with the addition of 48 new check-in counters and two baggage claim carousels. The expansion will provide 48 new check-in counters, 2 baggage claim carousels and other related facilities.

The Terminal 2 has been closed from 29 November 2019 for expansion works, including additional immigration facilities, and is expected to reopen in 2024, when the entire Third Runway system will also be commissioned at the same time.

To shorten the travelling time for passengers travelling to and from the North Satellite Concourse, a footbridge, known as the SkyCorridor, is being constructed between the Concourse and Terminal One. The 200-metre-long air-conditioned footbridge, with observation decks and restaurants, and a 28-metre-high bridge that allows Airbus A380 aircraft to taxi underneath, will become a prominent feature of the airport.

Gallery

Several Airport buses observe the "Departures Kerb" at Terminal 1 on Cheong Hong Road (December 2010)

Passengers can go straight into the Airport Terminal 1 after getting off at the "Departures Kerb" on Cheong Hong Road (March 2017)

The trolleys placed by the Airport Authority (AA) at the alighting stop for travellers' use, the picture shown is outside the Terminal 1 (March 2017)

The Departures Level at Terminal 1 (7/F, up) and the Arrivals Hall (5/F, down) (August 2017)

The Departures Level of the Terminal 1 has several raps linking the Airport Express level and the "Departures Kerb" level on Cheong Hong Road (August 2017)

The interior of Terminal 1 (November 2008)

The Terminal 2 bus stop, providing interchanges to the HZMB Hong Kong Port

The Terminal 2 has several ramps linking the Airport Express level and the Departures Kerb outside 5/F Traveller Registration Hall (August 2017)

At most of the times, the passenger flow of Terminal 2 was less than that of Terminal 1 (August 2017)

The interior of Terminal 2 (January 2008)

Related Articles

• Hong Kong International Airport
• North Satellite Concourse
• Airport Logistics Area
• Airport Staff Shuttle Bus
• Airport Terminal Shuttle Bus

External Links

• HKIA Website: Passenger Guide - Departures
  • Facility Map

To facilitate quoting and enquiries, the following redirect page(s) will direct to this page:

Terminal Building, Airport (Terminal Building), Passenger Terminal Building, Airport (Passenger Terminal Building), Airport Passenger Terminal Building, Airport (Terminal Area), Airport Terminal Area, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2

This is a bus stop disambiguation page - a list of entries with the same bus stop name.
If you came to this page through one of the internal links, We hope you pointed that internal link to the correct main article (but not this page).