Prologue Journal

Understanding current events through the lenses of the past and future.

Budget 2025: Hong Kong airport tax to rise from HK$120 to HK$200

Hong Kong Free Press

Hong Kong’s airport departure tax will rise more than 60 per cent, from HK$120 to HK$200 per passenger, starting in the third quarter of this year.

airport-terminal-people-passenger-departure-2 — Departure hall of the Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: GovHK.

Finance chief Paul Chan announced the hike during his 2025 Budget speech at the Legislative Council on Wednesday. “It is anticipated that the government revenue will increase by HK$1.6 billion per year – the impact on air passengers is expected to be minimal,” he said in Cantonese.

Departure taxes are built into ticket prices, and will apply to tickets purchased after October 1.

Chan also announced a HK$600 application fee on various talent admission and capital investment schemes with immediate effect. Meanwhile, visa fees – charged on the basis of the duration of stay – will rise from HK$600 to HK$1,300, he said. Revenue will increase HK$620 million per annum, as a result.

Aviation hub status

Take-offs and landings at the city’s airport reached a post-pandemic high in January, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said on Monday, though the figures still fall short of 2019.

Flight movements reached around 33,660, with the airport handling over 193,000 passengers on a single day on January 25 – also a record since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan shakes hand with a lawmaker in the Legislative Council on February 26, 2025, before he delivers the 2025 Budget. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Hong Kong’s status as an aviation hub took a major hit during the Covid-19 pandemic, when strict testing rules and mandatory quarantine periods in place for over three years meant airlines cut their routes to and from the city.

Airport traffic figures have struggled to recover since. In 2024, the city saw 53.1 million passengers and 363,305 flight movements, down from 71.5 million passengers and 419,730 flight movements in 2019, even as the city was engulfed in anti-extradition protests and unrest.

Hong Kong is battling bumper deficits and a flailing economy. Chan opened his speech by describing the 2025 Budget as a “reinforced version” of the fiscal consolidation programme. It included a cumulative reduction of government recurrent expenditure by 7 per cent from now through 2027-28.

Hong Kong failed to meet its tourism forecast last year. The Hong Kong Tourism Board predicted 46 million visitor arrivals, but the city saw only 44.5 million.

More to follow – refresh for updates.

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