Unity Hong Kong Foundation | Analyzing the New Changes in Air Rail: How Can Hong Kong Actively Integrate into Regional Restructuring?

Hong Kong Unity Fund Column | Ye Wenqi, Liang Yuehao, Hao Liang Hong Kong International Airport has recently achieved remarkable results, rising two places to fourth in the world in the 2026 Skytrax World Airport Awards, and maintaining its position as the world's number one in cargo volume for 15 consecutive years. These impressive achievements are encouraging, but we must not only focus on "our own progress" while ignoring the surrounding changes. This article will analyze several key developments to clarify the strategic opportunities facing Hong Kong Airport and why immediate action is necessary. Currently, the total number of runways operating in the Greater Bay Area airport cluster has reached 15, making it one of the regions with the highest runway density in the world. After the full operation of Hong Kong's three-runway system, the annual passenger handling capacity has increased to 120 million, with overall capacity rising by 50%. However, what truly deserves reflection is not the numbers themselves, but the fundamental transformation occurring in the airport's functions. In the future competition for aviation hubs, it will no longer be solely about the number of runways and the size of passenger terminals, but rather about the ability to connect international route networks with a broader regional passenger base through an efficient rail backbone. Multiple cities in the Greater Bay Area are simultaneously advancing the "airport cluster on rails," with Guangzhou Baiyun Airport and Shenzhen Bao'an Airport already achieving rail connectivity; the new airport in Guangzhou officially broke ground in March this year and will introduce multiple rail lines for "zero-distance transfer"; the comprehensive transportation hub at Shenzhen Airport East has also entered full construction phase. The entire region is creating a collaborative network linking multiple airports via rail, and if Hong Kong does not actively integrate, it may miss the opportunity in the new landscape. The national "14th Five-Year Plan" provides us with clearer strategic guidance, explicitly stating the need to "deepen cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and promote the coordinated development of ports, airports, and rail transit," and directly includes advancing the preliminary work of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Railway, embedding Hong Kong Airport into the rapidly expanding rail network of the Greater Bay Area. Moreover, it is noteworthy that Guangzhou is striving to extend the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Railway northward to Nansha, introducing Nansha Station via Shenzhen Airport, which will allow travel from Hong Kong's Hung Shui Kiu to Nansha in as little as half an hour. At the same time, the railway's overall planning reserves conditions for extending to Hong Kong Airport, which is expected to achieve rail transit connections among the three major airports of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, forming a "super corridor" for the three airports. This means that the international route advantages of Hong Kong Airport can be deeply integrated with the vast high-speed rail and intercity networks of the mainland, further expanding passenger and cargo hinterlands and consolidating its position as an international aviation hub. The strategic value of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Railway (Hung Shui Kiu to Qianhai) must not be limited to serving the regional branch level for commuting in Northwest New Territories. From a macro perspective, this railway is the core key for Hong Kong's integration into the Greater Bay Area's air-rail intermodal system. According to the latest planning, this railway will connect with the Guangzhou-Dongguan-Shenzhen Intercity Railway at Qianhai, linking Shenzhen Airport, Dongguan, Guangzhou Nansha, and ultimately connecting to the new airport in Guangzhou. In other words, Hong Kong Airport can seamlessly connect with the airports and railway hubs of core cities in the Greater Bay Area through a single rail line. This will fundamentally change the previous "single-point external" pattern of Hong Kong Airport to a "network external" approach, bringing more stable passenger and cargo hinterlands to Hong Kong, and providing the younger generation with more entrepreneurial, employment, and housing options in a broader space The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is formulating its first "Five-Year Plan" to actively align with the national "14th Five-Year Plan." This is undoubtedly an important opportunity to elevate the airport strategy to a long-term development blueprint that must not be missed. We cannot be satisfied with just hardware expansion; we must take proactive steps and focus on weaving external networks. In the face of this rapidly changing landscape, we can consider three questions: Can Hong Kong maintain its global ranking and cargo volume solely based on its own hardware? As surrounding airports enhance their synergy through rail connectivity, is it sufficient for Hong Kong to only focus on "expanding itself"? Should the strategic positioning of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Railway be elevated from regional commuting to connecting the airport and aligning with national-level regional integration? The answer is self-evident. Hong Kong's strong aviation foundation is our confidence, but it must not become a reason for complacency. With the blueprint in place, opportunities have emerged. Hong Kong needs to adopt a more macro perspective and take more decisive actions to actively integrate into the reshaping of the regional aviation landscape, so that it can continue to lead calmly in the new round of competition. The author, Ye Wenqi, is the Vice President of the Hong Kong Unity Foundation and the Executive Director of the Public Policy Research Institute; the author, Liang Yuehao, is the Assistant Research Director of the Hong Kong Unity Foundation and the Head of Land and Housing Research; the author, Hao Liang, is a researcher at the Hong Kong Unity Foundation. The article reflects the authors' opinions and does not represent the position of Hong Kong 01. 01's column selects experts from different fields to enrich the public opinion arena and encourage more dimensional thinking