I'm travelling LHR HKG end of next week. Wondering if I should cancel now?

I'd be surprised if this situation were allowed to continue for 2 weeks...

That's what I was thinking.........fingers crossed!

I was on BA28 from HKG last night; I was travelling ex-HKG and got through security (T2, to avoid crowds) just before it closed around 4pm (travelling with someone else who was on a much earlier flight to ICN). I am very pleased to have gotten out, and massive thanks to the crews of BA28 and BA32, and the ground staff/dispatch teams (full complement) and the station manager who has done a heroic job getting the crews through safely and turning around the aircraft. There were 25 pax on BA28 including mostly connecting pax and people like me who arrived at airport before it was shut down. Fantastic crew, who ensured we were *extremely well looked after* given the stress of the day

I deliberately didn't look at FT while I was stranded in the departure hall yesterday, and I'm really glad I didn't. There's a lot of incorrect armchair advice spinning around. Some non-exhaustive observations:

• The demonstrators are crowding the departure halls, which means it's impossible for check in staff to do their job, and for passengers to safely get to, and through, security. Pretty much the rest of the airport *can* operate (including getting crew safely airside)
• Arriving passengers were exiting the airport fine - there were crowds, and the approach roads were blocked for a time, but the Airport Express operated throughout
• The airport did not shut down entirely and there were some arrivals and departures when it was notionally "closed"; I understand why the airport did not want to advertise the fact flights were leaving - the last thing they needed was more passengers coming to the departures
• Information airside was hard to come by, as many of the FIDS were manually switched off (probably to stop people like me Tweeting photos of the sea of red cancellations...), and CX lounge staff were busy dealing with their own pax
• However, I managed to get word from the BA station manager via the Concorde/Special Services team that he was fully intending to dispatch both flights, and I should stay airside if I was there
• Since both BA27 and BA31 landed safely today, I would expect BA to do the same tonight, but please get confirmation from the station manager, and don't believe anything else you read here - I appreciate that might not be easy to do, but he is the only person I'd believe
• Slight confusion for me because BA sent an email to all pax - saying the airport could not check you in or process you through security (correct!) and that you should find your own accommodation/how to recover costs, etc. Re-reading, it did not say the flights were cancelled, but that was my immediate conclusion

Hope that helps if anyone is concerned / stuck in HKG today. One thing I can say, I was very glad to be flying BA, and it is at times like these that their experience and knowhow shines through for passengers. I don't think any other European airlines got any passengers out of HKG last night

Hi kt74,

Glad you made it out of HKG ok and thanks very much for the detailed update!

Can I ask ,did you have bags to check or were you just HBO?

Regards

TBS

I checked bags at city check in, and they arrived with no problems. In fact the only slight delay to departure was due to matching bags with those on board... More than made up for the fact there was zero airfield congestion!

Great news you managed to escape HKG, as there was so little on board, did WT passengers get an OpUp during the flights....

You were lucky and wise to check in some 7 hours before departure and before they suspended check-in at city stations.
Situation is a bit similar today, with check-in closed at 4pm. But it is almost impossible to get through the picketing protesters.

A few other longhaul flights departed last night including a few CX flights.
LHR-HKG flights are full with families returning for school start (many on 15 August), that's probably why BA decides to fly despite the emptu planes on the way back.

Protests have been going on for many weeks.
Protesters have found that blocking the airport is a very efficient way to get the government to move, one way or the other.
Until there is some resolution....
And it is hard to see how police can prevent them to block the airport. As the airport is quite isolated, they could block the access road and the train.

I am also returning to HK at the end of the month and between BA potential strike and HK airport problems....

So heartening to hear. I know the airport manager for BA at HKG and they are the stuff of legend and superb. I doesn't surprise me that this person went to heroic depths to get those flights out.......

FD,

I am supposed to be flying (on CX) PEK-HKG next Monday, then HKG-LHR Tuesday night (BA 32). It seem if this continues, I should be able to move the CX flight to Tuesday morning (CX are offering free rebooking on all flights to/from HKG on 12-14 August - presume that will continue) and then, if I fly HBO, I'll be able to connect to BA 32 without leaving the airport. If HKG looks like it will be closed to all flights, I suppose an alternative is to cancel both the CX and BA flights (which should be allowed) and book an alternative flight PEK-LHR (I would need an indirect flight as I'll be entering China on the 144 hour transit without a visa). Guess it's wait and see for now!

In that situation, personally I'd ask CX for a different routing direct to LHR from Beijing, or indirect via SIN or KUL or somewhere like that if there's competition for direct flights. I wouldn't be going anywhere near HKG for the next few days, it's a tinderbox.

I'm supposed to be flying FRA-HKG on Thursday. Can't see it happening but can't see a cancellation or waiver yet. Booked via an OTA which makes it even more awkward.

Thanks. My LHR-PEK / HKG-LHR booking is with BA; the PEK-HKG is a separate CX ticket. Do you think BA would entertain a request now to change the HKG-LHR leg next Tuesday to SIN, KUL, ICH or somewhere in say Japan at this stage? Seems to go beyond the refund/rebooking guidance posted above. In J if that makes a difference.