Special Assistance at Hong Kong International Airport

Travelling through Hong Kong International Airport can be overwhelming for anyone, but especially for families with autistic children or those with hidden disabilities. The good news is that Hong Kong Airport offers several ways to make the process smoother — from pre-arranged assistance to support on arrival and at boarding. Here’s everything you need to know.

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What is special assistance at Hong Kong International Airport?

At Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), “Special Assistance” covers a wide range of help designed for passengers who need extra time, space, or understanding when travelling. This includes passengers with visible and hidden disabilities, such as autism, anxiety, sensory sensitivities, and mobility or communication differences.

Support can range from fast-track security and early boarding to having a member of staff guide your family through the airport(for those with physical disabilities, you can book wheelchair assistance and other things specific to your needs). While the airport doesn’t have an official Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme, staff are trained to recognise and support travellers who may need additional help. To get more of an idea about the help available at the airport, I have a post that discusses this in detail.

If you’re flying with airlines like Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Emirates, or Qatar Airways, you can also request assistance in advance through your booking — the key term to use is the DPNA code (which stands for “Disabled Passenger with Non-Apparent Disability”). Want to learn more about the DPNA code? I have an entire post dedicated to learning about the DPNA code and what it is. Alternatively, you may want to read up on the globally recognised disability codes that IATA registered airports and airlines use for passengers with disabilities so they can recognise what their needs are by simply reading a four-letter code.

How to make a special assistance request

To make sure the right support is in place, it’s best to request special assistance before you fly. Simply contact the airline at least 48 hours before you flight (if possible) and ask them to add a special service request (also known as special assistance or adding a disability code to your booking). Sometimes, you can add special assistance during the booking process, look out for the option while you add passengers to your booking (I have a guide on how to do this with Ryanair and easyJet).

Here’s how to do it:

Add the DPNA code to your flight booking – You can do this by contacting your airline’s customer service team or special assistance department. Tell them your child (or you) is autistic or has a hidden disability, and that you’d like DPNA assistance added. Alternatively, you can pay for wheelchair service at the Hong Kong airport by contacting ALLWAYS on their 24 hour hotline on +852 2275 0000.
Make a request in the prmassist app – Use the prmassist app to make a request for help as a second layer to your overall accessibility plan. I have a guide on this app with links to the legitimate versions of the app for your phone or tablet.
Mention it again when checking in online – Some airlines include an accessibility or assistance box you can tick before check-in.
Confirm at the airport counter – On the day, remind staff at check-in that you have DPNA or special assistance noted on your booking.
Ask for priority boarding – This gives you time to get settled before other passengers board, helping reduce stress and sensory overload.
If needed, request a buggy or escort – Large airports like Hong Kong can mean long walks between terminals, so you can ask for transport assistance or an escort through security. This often means you will be transported in a vehicle similar to a golf cart.

For families with autistic children, it’s worth mentioning specific triggers (e.g., noise, crowds, waiting) so the staff can adapt their approach.

What to expect on the day

With special assistance confirmed, your journey through Hong Kong Airport becomes far easier.

Security – You’ll be directed to a priority or assistance lane, which is quieter and faster. If your child struggles with removing shoes or devices, let the staff know — they’re generally understanding once aware of the situation. Learn more about the priority lanes at Hong Kong airport here.
Boarding – Most airlines allow DPNA passengers to board first or last, depending on what works best for your needs. We’ve found early boarding is calmer and helps avoid crowds. If you need physical help to board, you must make sure to do an official special service (special assistance) request as far in advance as you can so they can arrange this.
Arrival – On landing, you can also request to be met by assistance staff. They can help guide you through immigration, collect baggage, and reach transport or connecting flights more smoothly.

If you have a connecting flight, the same assistance team usually continues with you through the next gate area.

Caring Corners

Inside the airport in Hong Kong if you have a disability, you can make use of one of their caring corners. These spaces are designed for anyone who needs them: those with a disability or illness, pregnant women and the elderly. They include spaces to sit down and rest, telephones to connect to the airport helpline to ask for help and screens with flight information available. There are two Caring Corners in Hong Kong Airport.

Location of the two Caring Corners in HKIA:

Near Gates 1 and 36, Departures Level (L6), Terminal 1
Transfer Area E1 and E2, Arrivals Level (L5), Terminal 1

Accessible changing room

Hong Kong Airport has an accessible changing room for disabled passengers also. You can find it near gate 69 in Terminal 1 or you can call the airport authority on +852 2181 8888 for more information. There is a page on the HKIA website which also includes a photo of the changing room where you can see it has a toilet, full size changing table and shower facilities.

Disabled toilets

There are disabled toilets throughout the airport for passengers with any disability to use. They include features like sliding doors, sensor flushes and things like the sinks and soap dispensers are lowered in height.

Other

Throughout the airport, you will find priority seats with colours and markers to reserve them for disabled passengers. You’ll also find seating at the immigration area for those who need them. At baggage claim, there are marked areas reserved for wheelchair uses to safely be able to get to their luggage without others crowding around them or preventing them from accessing the belt at all.

One other thing to bear in mind is that if you check your wheelchair (as we did with our child’s disability pushchair) it may not be returned at the plane. You need to contact the airline and find out what they offer when you land in Hong Kong e.g. will they return it to the plane or do they bring you to collect it in an airport wheelchair. If you have to collect it in the baggage hall, you will want to look for the “oversized baggage” area which is at the very end of it. This is where I found both my children’s pushchairs and the area had a lot of mobility equipment delivered there.

Need to know

I wanted to mention a few things you may need to know, and include some links to help you plan your trip to Hong Kong (or via Hong Kong):

If you use a wheelchair, make sure to contact the airline about this in advance and check the Hong Kong Airport website about their rules on batteries if your wheelchair uses one. Hong Kong and mainland China has very strict rules on batteries, their sizes and where they can be stored (see my post about power banks and travelling to China) and I have had stuff taken from my luggage at Beijing International Airport for having lithium batteries in it. Learn more about this from Hong Kong Airport’s guide on what and how to pack.
Learn more about what Hong Kong Airport offers passengers with disabilities through their website page about special needs access which has information about mobility concerns, charging ports for disabled passengers, priority channels and so much more.
Hong Kong International Airport has what they have termed as “caring corners” which are safe spaces for passengers with disabilities to rest and reset. Alongside rest equipment, there are telephones connected to helplines for passengers to contact for help and also TVs. There is more information about these in the section called “what to expect on the day” above.
Taxi’s from the airport are categorised by the area which they can go to and almost all of them are standard 5-seat vehicles. If you need something bigger or with specific accessibility requirements then I recommend looking into booking a private transfer for your trip to Hong Kong with a disability.

Plan a trip to Hong Kong with a disability

Travelling with a disability can be daunting, and I hope that my guides can make it just a little easier for you to plan your own trip to Hong Kong as a disabled traveller. Below are some of my most popular guides for Hong Kong:

Alternatively, check out my Hong Kong page for a list of all of my guides to travelling in Hong Kong, attraction recommendations, GetYourGuide discount code and so much more.

Helpful resources for travelling to Hong Kong

And I wanted to give a special mention to The Talos Foundation for those travelling to Hong Kong as an autistic person or with an autistic person. The Talos Foundation create and distribute awareness products which are intended to destigmatise and bring awareness to neurodiversity by giving people and their caregivers something to wear which can alert others to their neurodiversity and therefore alert them that they may just need a bit more time or help. On their products page, you can scroll down to the bottom to find a list of places where they are being distributed, for free, that you can pick one up for yourself.