The MTR Airport Express Line is the primary rail link between the city of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong International Airport located on Chek Lap Kok Island. It is a premium service on the MTR network with a separate, higher fare structure, but also offers more spacious and comfortable trains and stations. The journey from Hong Kong Station to the airport takes only 24 minutes, with trains departing every 10 to 12 minutes.
If you are using the 3-Day MTR Airport Express Travel Pass, you can get a massive discount which makes your Airport Express ticket cost only HK$5! Click here to find out how to make the most out of the 3-Day MTR Airport Express Travel Pass, or read on till the end of this article.
If you do not have a ticket for travel yet, you can purchase one at the counter or at the kiosks around the check-in floor.
The MTR Airport Express Line provides In-Town Check-In services at Hong Kong and Kowloon stations – the most useful feature of this train service. You can check-in for most airlines at the station, where you can drop your baggage off for your flight and receive your boarding pass. You can also do this in the morning for your afternoon flight – which was what I did to travel around Hong Kong on the last day hands-free and without concern on heading back to the hotel to check-out or pick up my luggage in the afternoon just before heading to the airport.
Tap your MTR Airport Express Travel Pass, Octopus card or Single Journey Tickets on the card reader on the fare gate to enter the In-Town Check-In area.
Check-in for Cathay Pacific flights are at counters 25 to 29 on the far right side.
Check-in is centralised for all flights. Just look out for your airline instead of your flight number.
Once done, head out of the the In-Town Check-In area via the one-way gates. There is no need to tap your MTR Airport Express Travel Pass, Octopus card or Single Journey Tickets here.
Our boarding passes for the Cathay Pacific flight back to Singapore.
A map of Hong Kong International Airport is provided at the back of each boarding pass as well. As the gate number is not provided yet (since it’s hours before our flight), we have to check for it once we get to the airport.
Once done with the last walkabout around Hong Kong, we headed back to Hong Kong station to board the Airport Express to the airport. The Airport Express platforms are two floors down from the concourse.
The Airport Express departs from a single platform at Hong Kong station.
The interior of the Airport Express. All seats are facing or opposing the direction of travel like an intercity train, unlike the longitudinal, hard metal seating on board the typical MTR trains.
Cars 1 and 7 are designated as quiet cars, and have charging ports installed in almost seats.
For bulkhead seats, 3-pin wall sockets are also available.
Luggage racks are installed by the side of the train doors.
At the end of the car, there is a dedicated space for passengers in wheelchairs.
The dynamic route map on board the Airport Express shows you the estimated distance between stations that the train has ran so far.
Along the way, a video introducing the future Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link was played. The future high speed rail line will run between West Kowloon station, Hong Kong SAR (located between Kowloon and Austin MTR stations) and Guangzhou South station, China via a new dedicated high speed rail line between Shenzhen North and West Kowloon via Futian.
Passing by Siu Ho Wan Depot.
Passing by under the link to the new Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facility located on a new island off Chek Lap Kok Island, the start of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge (HZMB) which will open some time in 2018.
The new Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facility taking shape.
Passing by Ying Tung Estate at Tung Chung.
Arriving at Airport station. The doors on the left lead to Terminal 1, while doors on the right lead to Terminal 2.
The two terminals are depending on which airline you are checking-in to. However, if you’ve already completed in-town check-in, just head for Terminal 1 to clear immigration as Terminal 2 has no aircraft gates – only for check-in and immigration purposes. Even if your airline says it operates from Terminal 2, in reality, the gates are all in the main Terminal 1 cluster and you have to take the Automated People Mover (APM) across to Terminal 1 anyway after immigration.
If in doubt, the stickers on the doors should help you.
Trolleys are on standby, mustered along the platform, should you need one.
To get the refund of the HK$50 deposit from your MTR Airport Express Travel Pass, head to the Customer Service Centre in the middle of the platform.
Resist the urge to spend the HK$50 you just got back on MTR souvenirs.
From here, take the travellators out to the departure hall and either check-in for your Terminal 1 flight if you haven’t done so, or head straight for immigration.
The “3 consecutive days” of the Airport Express Travel Pass as defined on MTR’s website mentions that “(t)he 3 days starts from the recorded entry time of the first MTR train journey and lasts for 72 hours plus any additional hours up to the end of train service on the last day“, which means it’s for 4 actual days of unlimited travel. You benefit the most if you have a long first and/or last day to maximise the pass.
If you return the pass after utilizing its value, you will also get a refund of HK$50. Deducting it from the actual cost, you are only actually paying HK$200 for 4 days of MTR travel including an Airport Express journey. This certainly beats buying 3 separate MTR Tourist Day Passes which would cost you HK$65 x 3 = HK$195 and does not get you an Airport Express ride to or from the city.
To save even more, you can pre-purchase your Airport Express Travel Pass from Klook and pick it up at the designated airport counter!
If it’s your first booking through Klook, get a FREE $4.30*/RM12.90* voucher for your first purchase when you sign up here!
*subject to exchange rate
Purchase your discounted Airport Express Travel Pass here!
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