The Tel Aviv flight is among the last few of the day, leaving at 1:30am. As a sign that Hong Kong is not really back on the aviation map, my airport bus doesn't run past 8pm, so I had to take the Airport Express, which had also gotten rid of the connecting taxi half fare discount from before the pandemic.
Tsing Yi station was eeringly empty. I was the only one in the station when I arrived, although a few more pulled up shortly before the train arrived. The train was quite empty as well, and my carriage only had 1 other person in it. I suppose with hotel quarantine gone, everyone was heading to Japan and Thailand, and those flights don't leave so late at night.
The airport was also eeringly quiet at that late hour, and there was nobody else in line at the premium check-in aisle. With separate PNRs to Israel and onwards to London, I asked if they could interline given the same alliance. However, I was told it's not possible. I had hoped I could send the big case all the way to London as I don't need it for that one night in Tel Aviv, saving me the hassle of hauling it out of the airport and back.
The board looks a bit busier now but there are actually very few red-eyes leaving for long-haul destinations still.
While the rest of the world has dropped COVID testing requirements to land in their territory, the big deviation is for mainland China.
Air-side, the shops were closed and there was barely anyone in the food court, pretty much the same as my last visit.
As part of the COVID restrictions still in place across Hong Kong, visitors to restaurants need to scan their virus app to track their whereabouts, although the government seems to have forgotten to use the data to track close contacts as COVID continues to spread across the community.
Otherwise, the airport is quite deserted, similar to my past visits. I guess it would be busier during the day when the Japan flights leave.
However, the airport has changed a lot more since then. A new sky bridge just opened connecting to the North Satellite Terminal. I took the escalators up to see for myself, although with darkness outside, there wasn't much in terms of view.
Scanning the boards, there seems to be a decent amount of flights to Japan in the morning now that they've relaxed visitor restrictions. I see Okinawa, Fukuoka, a few to Sapporo, and multiple Tokyo and Osaka flights.
Tonight's flight would be at gate 50, at the far end of one of the wings. As I walked along the length of the terminal, I noticed more improved seating and workstations. The small lounges are cozy and comfortable to relax while the computer workstation spaces also look good.
Toilets are segregated between passengers and staff, although with few people roaming around the terminal, crowds were never an issue. I recall this separation started earlier in the pandemic when staff got infected by passengers, although I thought it was more an issue with inbound arrivals than departures. Back then, there were few community cases.
