Hong Kong Immigration Department wins 2025 Skytrax Award for Best Airport Immigration Service
The Hong Kong Immigration Department (ImmD) has been voted the winner of the 2025 Skytrax Award for Best Airport Immigration Service in the World Passenger Survey commissioned by Skytrax, an international specialist research agent of the air transport industry.This is the fifth time for the ImmD to receive the award after winning itin 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020.
On April 9 (Madrid time), the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok, attended the prize presentation ceremony held in Madrid, Spain. Mr Kwok stated that the department was honoured to receive the prestigiousSkytrax Award for Best Airport Immigration Servicefor the fifth time, which affirms the ImmD's commitment to delivering the highest quality of immigration clearance services. The ImmD expressed gratitude to Skytrax and international travellers for their recognition, as well as to its frontline staff for their professionalism and dedication. The ImmD will continue striving for excellence by leveraging innovative technologies to introduce more facilitation measures and deliver the best immigration services to passengers, with a view to reinforce Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub while actively supporting the city's overall development.
Skytrax, a world-renowned specialist research agent and advisor of the air transport industry, mainly undertakes qualitative audits and research studies for airports and airlines services across the globe.The survey was conducted between August 2024 and February 2025, covering over 600 airports worldwide, and the survey questionnaires were collected from over 13 million air passengers of more than 100 nationalities on their ratings of airport service.
During his visit to Spain, Mr Kwok paid a courtesy call to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Kingdom of Spain. He met with Chargé d'Affaires ad interim and Minister of the Embassy, Mr Qu Xun, to strengthen bilateral ties and enhance co-operation. Mr Kwok also expressed his sincere gratitude to the Embassy for its strong support in assisting Hong Kong residents in distress in Spain. Mr Kwok also visited the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, where he held discussions with the Director-General of International Relations, Ms Elena Garzón Otamendi, on a number of topics including immigration control. Both sides exchanged insights and experiences on combating illegal immigration and leveraging innovative technologies to enhance immigration services. During his trip, Mr Kwok also met with several local media outlets to introduce Hong Kong's latest developments, talent admission schemes, visa services, and immigration facilitation measures.
Hong Kong Immigration Department wins 2025 Skytrax Award for Best Airport Immigration Service Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Immigration Department wins 2025 Skytrax Award for Best Airport Immigration Service Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Government sets up inter-departmental dedicated team to follow up on suspected closure of private healthcare facilities
As regards the recent suspected closure of certain private healthcare facilities, the Government has set up an inter-departmental dedicated team to ensure that cases are handled as soon as possible and members of the public involved are provided with assistance. The inter-departmental dedicated team comprises representatives from the Security Bureau, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Department of Health (DH) and the Consumer Council (Council).
Customs is actively looking into this incident and is conducting investigations into offences under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO) regarding the unfair trade practices. If there is any violation of the TDO, Customs will take appropriate enforcement actions. As at 4pm today (May 2), Customs and the police received 312 related reports and the Council received 157 related complaints. The Council urges the responsible persons of the relevant private healthcare facilities to explain as soon as possible whether it has closed down and the subsequent arrangements to address consumers' concerns. Consumers are advised to call the Council's hotline at 2929 2222 if they are in doubt.
Customs appeals to members of the public who have purchased prepaid services (including vaccinations) from the private healthcare facilities concerned to contact the department as soon as possible.Members of the public may report any suspected violation of the TDO to Customs by calling its 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or sending an email to its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or filling out an online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).
Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO. Consumers are also reminded to procure services at reputable shops and consider prudently before making decisions to make prepaid purchases. After making prepaid purchases, consumers should keep the relevant records, such as transaction receipts and contracts, which can become basic information in case a complaint is lodged in the future.
Under the TDO, any trader commits an offence if at the time of acceptance of payment, the trader intends not to supply the product or intends to supply a materially different product, or there is no reasonable ground for believing that the trader will be able to supply the product within a specified or reasonable period. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
As regards the concerns of affected parents about their children's remaining vaccinations, all 29 Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) under the DH provide vaccination service for infants and young children from birth to five years of age under the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme. For children affected by the incident and have been registered with one of the MCHCs, their parents may make an appointment by calling the registered MCHCs to consult the healthcare staff at the MCHCs on the vaccinations that their children need to receive in the future. For a small number of children who have not been registered with the MCHCs, parents may call this hotline (2125 1188), which will operate from tomorrow (May 3) from 9am to 5pm daily until further notice. Parents can also send emails to dhhelpdesk_2501@dh.gov.hk or WhatsApp messages to 6170 8006 respectively for enquiries. Information on the services and booking procedures of the MCHCs is available at www.fhs.gov.hk.
