Originally Posted by
supermasterphil
A lady from HK told me yesterday, that HKIA regulation is that everybody HAS to be at the airport 2h before the flight but she admitted that she doesn't fly very much
Apparently. Airport check-in cutoff is set by the airlines, but it is usually 40-45 minutes officially, and less than that unofficially. You can also check in way in advance (up to the day before as a rule), so you can just skate right in, as long as you are at the boarding gate 20 minutes before scheduled departure (officially, but is less than that quite regularly).