The United States Homeland Security have been increasing the security measures for passengers incoming to the U.S from various ports in Asia. The changes being made aren’t that dramatic and won’t be a huge hassle for passengers. One airline that will however take away a nice benefit is Cathay Pacific.
Cathay Pacific have the ability of in-town check-in located in both Kowloon and Hong Kong Island MTR stations. Passengers are able to collect their boarding pass and drop off their bags the day before all the way up to 90 minutes before your flight. If you’re an unaccompanied minor or a wheelchair passenger sadly you’re not able to use the service and will instead have to check in at the airport.
Cathay Pacific’s A350
Now joining the list of people unable to use the service are all U.S bound passengers, here’s the statement from Cathay Pacific,
To meet the enhanced US Security Measures effective 26 October 2017, Cathay Pacific will suspend In Town Check-in and Self-Bag Drop services for passengers booked on flights to the United States, with the exception of those travelling on Flight CX888 to New York/JFK via Vancouver.
While passengers may still check in online, they are asked to check in their baggage at the dedicated counters on Aisle B at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), where they will be subject to a short security interview. Passengers without check-in baggage should proceed to the boarding gate directly as early as possible, where they will be also be subject to a short security interview.
We therefore advise all passengers travelling to the U.S. to arrive at the airport three hours prior to departure to ensure they can proceed through all airport checkpoints in good time.
Ultimately this isn’t a massive change in security matters but it’s a little annoying especially for the passengers that frequent Hong Kong and use the service. I haven’t yet but will check it out when i’m next in Hong Kong.
Featured Image – Cathay Pacific
5 comments
Several other asian cities/airports – Seoul/incheon, Taipei/Taoyuan – also offer in-town check in. Are the US-bound flights from those cities affected, too?
I’m not too sure about the other airlines but I’ll do some research and get back to you.
Thanks for Posting this news. I will be going through this in the near future.
Not just in air travel, but in every single area that I can think of, the US government and its various organizations go above and beyond what is reasonable to try to protect people. Every service business in the US has to issue all kinds of disclosures, disclaimers, and advisories, no matter how unlikely the need is for it. The average American is buried under a massive flood of disclosures and advisories to the point that it is counter productive and in a reality only protects a fraction of a fraction of people. The 99.99999% of people not impacted get to be buried under this onslaught of so called “protective measures”.
It’s really sad what our world has changed to.
Not a problem, and yes, it’s sad to see how much the world has changed.
This will be a shame since the station check-in saves so much time and labor. Waltzing into HKG with no luggage and enjoying dining and shopping was one of the best experiences at any airport.
This reminds me; I miss the NRT check-ins in Tokyo at the Hakozaki terminal (now TCAT) in the 90s, too.
Comments are closed.