Originally Posted by
renegurl
I was at a departure-side lounge for a few hours (decompressing from 16 hours in economy) and asked to exit to immigration-side. I had a 12+ hour layover. At first they said no, then they said yes but I'd have to wait for an escort (1 hour quoted wait) and that I can't do 'this' again. I waited 40 minutes for an escort mid-morning, and then he escorted me to the train which was a less than 5 minutes process.
I'd done this once before at a similar time with almost no wait.
I don't qualify for Arrivals lounge, but this was a hassle. In the future if I had a layover, I might just spend money for a shower on the other side.
At least, thanks for having the courage to post! I am no fan of this practice at all...but appreciate you sharing this update regardless.
Originally Posted by
Daffie
Frankly, CX should keep a list of these passengers. If they try to pull this off more than 2-3 times without a legitimate reason, they should be blacklisted.
+1.
My concern is if this loophole is abused too much, the losers will be those of us who use HKG weekly as part of our work. I'm waiting for the day everyone's flights are delayed due to a security scare on account of some yahoo leaving bags in the Wing at 7am, showering, and then goes to town for the day before a connecting flight at night. If this practice of passengers leaving their bags airside for 12+ hours while they themselves are 15 miles away chowing down dim sum in Central and taking selfies on the Peak, eventually the security dragons somewhere are going get their panties in a wad and we'll all get delayed as a result.
Or, if CX determines this loophole is being abused by these folks - who appear to be leisure traveling award travelers, in my observation from the FT posters - then CX or HKIA shuts it down for everyone. Maybe cancelling our ticket if we go back landside, or some other disincentive. Again, the real losers would be the frequent HKG business travelers. If you fly ex HKG 50+ times a year for many years, eventually you'll need to leave airside for an emergency or a situation once in a blue moon. Has happened to me just twice IIRC over the last 8 years, but I am thankful the outlet was there. Would be a real shame if it got shut down on account of the lounge hopping brigade.