Categories of Restricted Articles

Restricted articles that must not be carried in the cabin of an aircraft or beyond the security screening checkpoints of Hong Kong International Airport are grouped into five generic categories:

1. Firearms, guns and weapons - any object capable, or appearing capable, of discharging a projectile or causing injury.

2. Pointed/edged weapons and sharp objects - any pointed or bladed item capable of being used to cause injury.

3. Blunt instruments - any blunt object capable of being used to cause injury.

4. Explosive and flammable substances - any explosive or highly combustible substances which pose a risk to the health of passengers and crew or the security/safety of aircraft or property.

5. Chemical and toxic substances - any chemical or toxic substances which pose a risk to the health of passengers and crew or the security/safety of aircraft or property.

Examples of Restricted articles by category

The following paragraphs described a non-exhaustive list of items which fall into the five generic categories of restricted articles mentioned above.

Category 1. Firearms, guns and weapons

• Air pistols, rifles and pellet guns
• All firearms (pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, etc.)
• Animal humane killers
• Ball bearing guns
• Catapults
• Component parts of firearms (excluding telescopic sighting devices and sights)
• Cross bows
• Harpoon and spear guns
• Industrial bolt and nail guns
• Lighters shaped like a firearm
• Replica and imitation firearms
• Signal flare pistols
• Starter pistols
• Stun or shocking devices, e.g. cattle prods, ballistic conducted energy weapons (taser)
• Toy guns of all types

Category 2. Pointed/edged weapons and sharp objects

• Axes and hatchets
• Arrows and darts
• Crampons
• Harpoons and spears
• Ice axes and ice picks
• Ice skates
• Lockable or flick knives with blades of any length
• Knives with blades of any length, made of metal or any other material strong enough to be used as a potential weapon
• Meat cleavers
• Machetes
• Open razors and blades (not safety or disposable razors with blades enclosed in cartridge)
• Sabres, swords and swordsticks
• Scalpels
• Scissors (blunt or rounded-ended scissors with blades less than 6 cm are allowed)
• Ski and walking/hiking poles
• Throwing stars
• Tradesman's tools that have the potential to be used as a pointed or edged weapon, e.g. drills and drill bits, box cutters, utility knives, all saws, screwdrivers, crowbars, hammers, pliers, wrenches/spanners, blow torches.

Category 3. Blunt instruments

• Baseball and softball bats
• Billiard, snooker and pool cues
• Clubs or batons - rigid or flexible - e.g. Billy clubs, blackjacks, night sticks and batons
• Cricket bats
• Fishing rods
• Golf clubs
• Hockey sticks
• Kayak and canoe paddles
• Lacrosse sticks
• Martial arts equipment e.g. knuckledusters, clubs, coshes, rice flails, num chucks, kubatons, kubasaunts
• Skateboards

Category 4. Explosives and flammable substances

• Aerosol spray paint
• Alcoholic beverages exceeding 70% by volume (140% proof)
• Ammunition
• Blasting caps
• Detonators and fuses
• Explosives and explosive devices
• Fireworks, flares in any form and other pyrotechnics (including party poppers and toy caps)
• Flammable liquid fuel, e.g. petrol/gasoline, diesel, lighter fluid, alcohol, ethanol
• Gas and gas containers, e.g. butane, propane, acetylene, oxygen (except small gaseous oxygen or air cylinder for medical use)
• Grenades of all types
• Mines and other explosive military stores
• Non-safety matches
• Replica or imitation explosive material or devices
• Smoke generating canisters or cartridges
• Turpentine and paint thinner

Category 5. Chemical and toxic substances

• Acids and alkalis, e.g. spillable 'wet' batteries
• Corrosive or bleaching substances, e.g. mercury, chlorine
• Disabling or incapacitating sprays, e.g. mace, pepper spray, tear gas
• Fire extinguishers
• Infectious or biological hazardous material, e.g. infected blood, bacteria and viruses
• Material capable of spontaneous ignition or combustion
• Poisons
• Radioactive material, e.g. medicinal or commercial isotopes

Current Rate and Exemption of the Air Passenger Departure Tax

The current rate of the Air Passenger Departure Tax is HK$120 per passenger (12 years of age or above) departing by air from Hong Kong through Hong Kong International Airport, or by helicopter from Hong Kong at the Heliport at the Hong Kong - Macau Ferry Terminal. Pursuant to the Air Passenger Departure Tax Ordinance (Cap. 140), a passenger under 12 years of age is exempt from the tax. With effect from April 1, 1999, passengers who arrive and depart from Hong Kong by air within the same day are also exempted from the tax. For all categories of exemption, please refer to the Second Schedule of the Ordinance.

Collecting the Tax

Air passengers will have to pay the Air Passenger Departure Tax when they buy air ticket from the airlines, travel agents or helicopter companies. Airlines normally will not collect departure tax at the check-in counter unless it has not been collected upon issue of air tickets.

Refund of the Tax for Unused Air Ticket

Passengers who have paid Air Passenger Departure Tax (APDT) upon purchase of air tickets but eventually have not departed from Hong Kong by air are eligible for tax refund from the airlines, travel agents or helicopter companies. No charge shall be payable for such refund.

Applying for Refund for Eligible Exemption

1. Sea-to-air passengers (passengers who arrive at Hong Kong International Airport by cross boundary ferry service for onward departure from Hong Kong by air).

With effect from 26 April 2005, same day cash refund of advance payment of departure tax is available at the Sky Pier at Hong Kong International Airport. Passengers who have been issued Refund Coupons upon check-in at the cross boundary ferry pier but have not collected the refund at the Sky Pier Refund Counter on the same day of travel shall contact the airlines concerned directly for the refund. Passengers who have not been issued Refund Coupons can apply by post only (please refer to the following paragraph (ii. b.) for the application procedures) to the Civil Aviation Department for tax refund.

2. Other passengers

a. Passenger may apply in person for refund in cash at the Civil Aviation Department's (CAD) 'Air Passenger Departure Tax’ Counter located at Aisle E, Level 7, Departure Hall, Terminal 1 of the Hong Kong International Airport upon production of all the following documents:

1. tax payment evidence (i.e. original air ticket / original helicopter ticket / e-ticket which indicates that Hong Kong APDT has been paid);
2. original boarding pass of the above departure flight (for the airline passenger only);
3. original ferry ticket bearing passenger's name (only for sea-to-air passengers); and
4. relevant documents to support of the claim to exemption.

b. Passenger may also apply by post for refund in cheque by forwarding the duly completed "Air Passenger Departure Tax (APDT) Application for Refund" form together with all the required documents within 4 weeks of departure of the flight to:

Revenue Section of Finance Division
Civil Aviation Department
10/F Commercial Building
Airport Freight Forwarding Centre
2 Chun Wan Road
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong

If the passenger has difficulty in depositing the Hong Kong dollar cheque in his / her bank account, please refer to Note (ii) of "Air Passenger Departure Tax (APDT) Application for Refund" form for alternative payment arrangements.

Size of Hand Carry

The size is 22" X 14" X 9" or 56cm X 36cm X 23cm.

Allowance for Check-in Baggage for Each Passenger

There are two systems:

(a) The Piece System - This system is applicable to passengers travelling to or from the USA or Canada. In general, passengers are allowed to carry two pieces of baggage free, provided that the weight of each piece does not exceed 32 kg and the size does not exceed the maximum dimensions allowed (which depends on which class the passengers are entitled to travel).

(b) The Weight System - This system is applicable to passengers travelling to or from places other than the USA or Canada. In general, the allowance for checked baggage is 40 kg for first class, 30 kg for business class and 20 kg for economy class.

For details of the free baggage allowance and excess baggage charges, please contact the airlines concerned direct.

As a passenger, it is an offence to take dangerous goods (except for certain dangerous goods in very small quantity and in special condition) on board an aircraft. The law restricts the type and quantity of dangerous goods allowed to be carried by passengers, because they can be a danger to you and the aircraft in flight due to temperature and pressure difference.

Dangerous Goods are articles or substances which are capable of posing a significant risk to health, safety, property or the environment when transported by air. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) classified dangerous goods in 9 classes, which are:

Class 1	Explosives
Class 2	Gases
Class 3	Flammable liquids
Class 4	Flammable solids; Substances liable to spontaneous combustion; Substances which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases
Class 5	Oxidizing substances and Organic peroxides
Class 6	Toxic and infectious substances
Class 7	Radioactive material
Class 8	Corrosive substances
Class 9	Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles

Examples of dangerous goods which passengers are forbidden from taking onboard an aircraft are as follows:
- Gas cylinder and sizeable pressurised container which are commonly used in general household (i.e. not referring to those mini aerosols for personal use);
- Flammable Gas, Liquid or Solid e.g. lighter refills, gas soldering iron, gas camping stove, flammable glue, paint, printing ink, phosphorus;
- Some Household Items e.g. thinner, pesticide;
- Corrosive Substances e.g. wet-cell batteries;
- Explosives e.g. firework, signal flares, ammunitions;
- Other Dangerous Goods e.g. magnetised or radioactive material, toxic or infectious substance like diagnostic samples, chemical.

There are other unlisted forbidden dangerous goods. Please follow airline instructions.

Examples of dangerous goods which can be carried by air passenger and the relevant restrictions are as follows:
- One Lighter or Safety Matches on one's person;
- Less than 0.5 L (net qty.) and 2 L (total qty.) of toilet articles and non-flammable / non-toxic aerosols for sporting or home use. E.g. hair sprays, perfumes, and colognes. [Remarks: For passengers carrying these items inside passenger cabin please also observe the "New Security Measures for Cabin Baggage at HKIA"];
- One small mercury thermometer in its protective case;
- In carry-on baggage only, no more than two spare lithium batteries for consumer electronic devices (must be individually protected) per person;
- Less than 2 kg of dry ice used to pack perishables in carry-on baggage;
- Alcoholic beverages in retail packagings containing no more than 70 per cent alcohol by volume. [Remarks: For passengers carrying these items inside passenger cabin, please also observe the "New Security Measures for Cabin Baggage at HKIA"

If you are unsure if an item can be taken onboard aircrafts, please contact your airline.

Many dangerous goods can be shipped as cargo if properly prepared and declared. For further information, please contact your airline.