Hong Kong border sees 9-fold surge in departures during peak hour
Hong Kong's Lo Wu border crossing saw a peak of 9,728 departures in one hour on 18 October, up nearly nine times from previous periods. The government activated contingency plans to manage the sudden surge.
Hong Kong’s Security Bureau reported a significant surge in northbound travellers at the Lo Wu (Huanggang) border crossing on Saturday 18 October. From around 11 am, the number of people leaving Hong Kong via the crossing rose sharply. Between noon and 2 pm, about 19,000 travellers departed for the mainland, an increase of more than eight times compared with the same period in the past.
The busiest hour was between 1 pm and 2 pm, when 9,728 people crossed the border, up nearly nine times from previous periods. The bureau said that during the peak, the queuing time for passengers on Level 2 was 30 to 45 minutes, while on Level 5 – the departure hall – wait times stayed under 30 minutes.
By around 2 pm, the peak began to ease. The crowd-control measures on Level 2 were lifted at 2:10 pm, and by 2:40 pm the waiting time at the Level 5 departure hall had dropped to less than 15 minutes.
The Immigration Department immediately opened all clearance channels and counters on Level 5 to speed up the flow of people. It also worked with the Police Force to implement crowd-diversion and control measures.
According to the Security Bureau, large-scale drills had been conducted earlier. When the sudden increase in travellers occurred, contingency plans were activated promptly and overall operations ran smoothly. The bureau said it will continue to work with the Immigration Department, the Police Force and other relevant agencies to monitor the situation at border crossings and adjust measures as needed to ensure smooth clearance and public services.
The Immigration Department has also published real-time waiting-time information via the “Port of Entry” platform. It advised travellers to plan their journeys in advance and consider using other border crossings.