Long holiday beckons -- but soaring airfares push travellers to red-eye flights
發佈日期: 2026-04-01 20:14
TVB News
Hong Kong's upcoming Easter and Ching Ming holiday period is poised to offer citizens an extended break.
But soaring airfares are pushing travellers to consider overnight flights and alternative routes.
Long holiday beckons -- as this year's Easter holiday coincides with the Ching Ming Festival. Together, they give workers at least five public holidays.
By taking just three days of leave next Wednesday to Friday, the break can be stretched to a total of ten days.
However, several local airlines have raised fuel surcharges starting today. Cumulatively, the surcharges nearly doubled compared with early last month.
Budget carrier HK Express has also increased cabin baggage fees since Sunday with some fare categories rising by as much as 30 percent.
For those planning trips at the last minute, ticket prices could be steep.
For example, a one-way economy-class ticket departing on the first day of the holiday to London on an evening flight arriving the next morning -- can set you back nearly 42,000 dollars.
A travel guide editor suggests delaying departures, opting for red-eye or overnight flights or even taking alternative routes to trim costs.
Editor Lo Fung cited his own recent trip as an example -- travelling by high-speed rail to Xiamen then transferring by ferry to Kinmen. And you can take another high-speed rail to travel around Taiwan. The total round-trip transport costs just over 1,000 dollars.
As for the mainland, while there is no Easter holiday, the Ching Ming Festival creates a long weekend from Saturday to Monday.
Some mainland holidaymakers have taken additional leave to extend their break.
This tourist says she had taken three extra days off for a six-day trip.
Timothy Chui, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association says 30 to 40 percent of flights on April 4th are already full -- much higher than typical Sundays.
The Immigration Department estimates around 6.44 million passenger trips will pass through Hong Kong during the holiday period with about 84 percent via land boundary crossings.
The Transport Department has urged travellers to plan ahead and make greater use of public transport.
