Increasing Hong Kong’s Airport Express fares could drive passengers to choose other modes of transport instead, lawmakers have said.
Speaking at a Legislative Council Panel on Transport meeting on Friday, lawmaker Dominic Lee cited figures showing that ridership of the Airport Express had only recovered to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
“Actually, airport statistics and figures from some airlines show that their recovery is higher than 70 per cent,” he said in Cantonese.
“Does this show that after the pandemic, there are some citizens who used to take the Airport Express but now choose other ways to get to the airport?” he said. “If you increase the fares… would it further affect ridership?”
On Tuesday, the MTR Corporation (MTRC) – which operates the Airport Express – proposed hiking the airport train’s fares, citing financial challenges due to a drop in passengers since the pandemic.
Currently, the adult Octopus fares for the Airport Express from Hong Kong, Kowloon, and Tsing Yi Stations to the airport are HK$110, HK$100, and HK$65 respectively.
The proposals could see the fares rise to HK$120, HK$105, and HK$73.
On Friday, lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok also expressed concern that the Airport Express was facing competition from other modes of transport. He said he observed that tourists and Hongkongers were using ride-hailing apps more often.
“I think this has affected the Airport Express’s business,” Lo said in Cantonese.
Commissioned in 1998, the Airport Express links the airport with Hong Kong, Kowloon, and Tsing Yi stations. Fares have only been raised once, in 2017, according to a Legislative Council paper written by the MTR Corporation.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong is also set to increase its airport departure tax from HK$120 to HK$200. Authorities said on Wednesday that they would push ahead with the plan amid lawmakers’ concerns that it could weaken the city’s competitiveness.
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 led airlines to 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, down from 71.5 million in 2019.
