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Cannix Yau

The number of vehicles using a mega bridge linking Hong Kong with Zhuhai and Macau hit a record high last year, the South China Morning Post has learned, with a lawmaker saying the boom has taken a heavy toll on ferry services and a long-running helicopter service.
Transport Department figures obtained by the SCMP showed that vehicle flow via the popular Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge reached a record high of 5.21 million last year, up more than 19 per cent from 4.36 million in 2024.
The 2025 figures were the highest in the past five years, following border closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. The bridge was opened to traffic in 2018.
Average daily vehicle flow via the bridge in June this year reached 15,408, already surpassing the overall average for 2025.
The bridge’s peak in popularity coincided with helicopter service operator Sky Shuttle’s announcement that it would axe its scheduled flights between Hong Kong and Macau, which had operated since 1990.
Sky Shuttle said the service suspension took into account the coming relocation of Macau Heliport to the new heliport at Macau International Airport Terminal 2. It added that its Macau-Shenzhen route was excluded from this suspension and would operate as a scheduled flight service.
Starting this month, the company said its helicopter services would switch to a charter-only model, operating five days a week.
The Sky Shuttle network, which links Macau’s Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal with Hong Kong’s Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal, used to offer 54 flights every day since 2008 with fares set at HK$4,580 (US$584) per trip.
The service was initially founded in 1988 as a joint venture that was majority-owned by Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, headed by the late Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun.

Turbojet – owned and operated by a joint venture between the Ho family’s Shun Tak Holdings and China Travel International Investment Hong Kong – and its competitor Cotai Water Jet, owned by casino operator Sands China, have consolidated their ferry schedules between Macau and Hong Kong since September 1.
Under the new arrangement, some frequencies were cut and while others became unscheduled services.
Lawmaker Mark Chong Ho-fung said he believed the bridge’s advantages – reflected by its boom – had greatly affected the Sky Shuttle business. It also took a toll on Hong Kong-Macau ferry services, which recorded a 6.5 per cent year-on-year drop to 7.74 million passengers in 2025.
“The bridge’s greater popularity showed that more commuters were attracted by its advantages over other transport means such as the Sky Shuttle and the Hong Kong-Macau ferry services,” he said.
Chong pointed out that Sky Shuttle’s helicopter services were more expensive and prone to weather disruptions, while ferry services were restricted by their schedules.
“If you commute via the bridge, you can still arrange a luxury service such as pickup or ride services by a limousine,” he said.
Macau government data show 1,112 tourists arrived in Macau via the Outer Harbour heliport in the first seven months of 2026, up 1.7 per cent from a year earlier but down 84.4 per cent from 7,121 in the same period in 2019, before the pandemic. Macau received 24.49 million visitors over the first seven months of 2026.
Annual helicopter arrivals peaked in 2013 at 43,218, during the casino city’s gaming boom, according to the Macau government.


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News

Hong Kong

Transport

Mark Chong says Sky Shuttle’s suspension and drop in ferry services linked to bridge’s growing use, with vehicle flow reaching 5.2 million in 2025


Mark Chong says Sky Shuttle’s suspension and drop in ferry services linked to bridge’s growing use, with vehicle flow reaching 5.2 million in 2025.


Hong Kong mega bridge’s popularity takes toll on helicopter, ferry services: lawmaker

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Mark Chong says Sky Shuttle’s suspension and drop in ferry services linked to bridge’s growing use, with vehicle flow reaching 5.2 million in 2025

Mark Chong says Sky Shuttle’s suspension and drop in ferry services linked to bridge’s growing use, with vehicle flow reaching 5.2 million in 2025