Stuck in HKG without being able to Exit
 

Just thought I’d leave this here so others don’t end up in the same fate as us. Just flew in to HKG with a 12 hour layover, thinking we would spend some time in the lounge then go venture into the city we went through the transit side instead of immigration.

Once inside the airport and ready to leave into the city we find out there’s no way out. Your simply not allowed to exit the airport (we would happily go through immigration etc) never seen any other airport like this and now we’re pretty much stuck for the next 12 hours.

Airport staff said only way to leave was to cancel my outbound ticket and have special staff escort us through.

Why didn't you venture into the city first and then come back to spend some time in the lounge?

Unfortunately this is the case for airports with separate arrival and departure levels. You cannot leave the departure level unless of special situations. This rule is in place due to security reasons.

I feel sorry for the situation but this is the rule. The decision has to be made once you land. Maybe if CX decides to open an arrival lounge on the landside the problem will not happen.

Welcome to the world outside of the USA.

Sorry that you got trapped - but I do appreciate you taking the time to post. This just confirms a few times in threads I've made this point when people asked proactively in advance but we never quite got to the 100% certainty. At least there are worse places in the world than HKG to get trapped for many hours - but clearly the city would have been a lot more fun.

Note: At least you can now be part of the Lounge FAQ sticky for the forum (already edited in) as answering one FAQ on lounge access before immigration....

For completeness:
- Canada and the rest of North America operate like the US (no segragated international departures, except pre-clearance)
- Singapore T1-T3 (not T4, T4 segregates) and Malaysia operate their security at the gate, so international arrivals can co-mingle with departure, and international arrival passengers can use departure lounges prior to entering thosee countries https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/sing...l#post36072028

Also here in MAD the Schengen/Domestic side we can come and go as we please. Good we know we are are not part of the rest of world :rolleyes:
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Intra-Schengen lumped with domestic yes but non-Schengen departure no. Once stamped out of Schengen, I don't think any EU airport will readily let you back in, except IRROPs.

You should have approached ground staffs at the arrival gates first in HKG. They will tell you that you are not allowed to return to the arrival level once you go through security
I believe that this question has been asked hundred of times here at flyertalk and the rule is pretty clear.

With the new facial recognition/security program here in HKG now, you really can't go back to arrival level after passing transit security. They took your photos at transit security now so it is just impossible.

Even with irregular operation, all the passengers will have to go through arrival immigration before heading to hotels and/or new flights.

Your title is a bit misleading but unfortunately you just have to ask ground staffs in HKG in the future.

Carfield

LHR T5C shuttle-shuffe self-offloading? BA's "ready to fly" doens't like it, but it's allowed.
MAD T4 non-schengen, the airport doesn't stop you from leaving, if immigration won't let you (re) enter that's an immigration decision not "airport".
OP did not enter HK, did their thing in HK, re-entered airport, then wanted to leave the airport again. Entering HK once in between a transit is reasonable from immigration POV.
Yes, OP should have asked beforehand, but the whole "Welcome to the world outside of the USA" USA-bashing is ironically ignorant.

Isn't EU also a security question too?

Even Annex II nationals get to enter and exit EU repeatedly in a day (I've done it in Gibraltar https://www.reddit.com/r/PassportPorn/s/yWOHE25Dcm ). Not to mention EU citizens can't really be restricted.

I don't think that it is USA-bashing.
The OP stated "never seen any other airport like this".
Many posters just point out that in many airports throughout the world, international departures and arrivals are segregated (in EU, Schengen flights are treated as domestic not international).
In most cases where international departures and arrivals are segregated , there is no routine way to reenter the country once you have reached the departure level. There are a few exceptions depending on the design of the airport, but in most cases, you must escorted back to the arrival level or a special zone (like in HKG) to clear immigration; and they won't do it and assign staff, unless you have a reasonable reason.
I don't think that the OP in transit has a "reasonable" reason.

The requirement to cancel your outbound ticket is likely a security measure to make people smuggling harder. HK is a major air transit hub with lots of flights to desirable destinations for migrants and offer visa free access from 145 countries.

welp that's your mistake, you already went through transit check

Hi percysmith, brunos,

Perhaps OP's only been to the UK, with both UK US not having visible exit controls

But back to HKIA, all they need is a one way door/path that allows pax in departures to rejoin the arrivals stream and then let immigration decide whether the pax can be landed (OP is not trying to enter HK twice).
OP is allowed to use CX F's lounges, they can spend the whole time at CX's dime (not cheap), or CX can help OP 'get ride of themselves'. There is no extra immigration staff work than if OP just entered HK directly, only the security scan when first entering departures is 'wasted', balanced with how much economic spend OP might do in HK, and even if not, a degree of tourism good-will.
If OP was a HKie, I can understand airport 'forcing' them to cancel the ticket, but not for an international visitor.