Local and Zhuhai authorities are currently exploring the possibility of opening a Macao airport check-in counter at the Hengqin Checkpoint, according to local reports that cited SAR’s top official in charge of border control, Wong Kim Hong.
Speaking at the Legislative Assembly yesterday, Wong revealed that a working group has been set up to conduct research into the proposal.
The group consists of various stakeholders, including the executive committee of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, the Macao Customs Service and the Macau International Airport Company.
[See more: Soon you’ll be able to check-in for flights at HZMB]
During the session, the vice president of the Civil Aviation Authority, Fong Wai Long, added that the check-in counter was envisioned as a convenience for mainland residents. Such passengers could fly into Zhuhai and then proceed to their intended destination via Macao after completing the airport check-in process at Hengqin.
The importance of linking Macao to aviation hubs within the Greater Bay Area (GBA) was also highlighted by the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, who made reference to a 2021 study that concluded: “Macao has not effectively established a seamless linkage with nearby mainland airports.”
As part of its efforts to ameliorate the issue, a Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau (HZMB) Bridge check-in centre was launched in late August last year. Despite such initiatives, passenger volume at Macao’s airport is still only 70 percent of 2019 levels, with a total of 5.15 million passengers processed in 2023.
