Transit Time at Hongkong Airport

Question

I am looking to book flights between Mumbai,India and San Francisco, USA on a Cathay Pacific flight. For the trip from SFO to BOM and stop over at HKIA, the flight options available provide a stop over time of 1 hr 15 m or then greater 10 hrs. There is no in between flight. From what I see on the HKIA website, Cathay flights arrive and depart from Terminal 1. I am wondering if the 1 hr 15 m stopover is sufficient or should we go with the longer stopover. Travellers are "senior" indian citizens / passport holders. Will there be a security check at HKIA again for such a transit I have in the past traveled using Cathay with a 1 h 10 m stop over, and don't remember having any issues.

Thank you

Answer 1

75 minutes transit in HK is normally not an issue since your baggage etc will be checked through

But a few things you need to be aware of

1. You mentioned senior citizens, some times the distance between gates can be very long if you are unlucky.
2. If you arrive at a very busy time the transit security checkpoint can be very crowded dramatically increasing the wait time

What you can do is to speak to the airline and ask that they provide wheel chairs for your senior citizens ( if applicable of course ) that way you will almost certainly make the transfer

I am a betting man and if your senior citizens cN walk at reasonable speeds I would say you have a 80% chance of making it barring points 1 and 2 above

Answer 2

If the two flights are booked as a single ticket, then Cathay Pacific think this is doable, and they will provide assistance and rebooking if they don’t make it because the first flight is delayed.

Incoming transit passengers do go through security checks before they can access the departure area, but this is a quick and efficient process in HKIA.

If the connection is tight, CX will most certainly post personel at the arrival gate to assist connecting passengers. There are also electric cars to transport people who have difficulty walking or when the distance between gates is long and the time limited.

You may want to check gate numbers for the same flights. Even though they are not guaranteed to be the same on all days, they are often in the same area, so that will give you an idea of the distance to cover (HKIA is efficient but very very large).

If you feel your parents may need assistance, do not hesitate to call CX to let them know in advance.

1h15 is a relatively short connection, but very clearly doable in HKIA which is a very efficient airport. I have often done 2-hour connections with enough time to go to one of the CX lounges, take a shower, eat something, and then on to the departing gate, so without that detour 1h15 should be perfectly fine.

Of course, if the two flights are on separate tickets, you can just forget about it.