[UPDATE: Cathay Pacific has since provided comment on the lounge’s closing]

Cathay Pacific will be closing its popular The Arrival lounge at Hong Kong International Airport on November 5 this year, the carrier announced late last night.

The facility, located on Level 3 between Terminals 1 and 2, is a regular stopping point for early arrivals into the city and is often busy during the morning period.

Business Traveller has previously reviewed the lounge, which can be read here.

Cathay Pacific made the announcement in a statement on its official website. Responding to a request for comment from Business Traveller, a spokesperson for the airline said:

“Cathay Pacific’s The Arrival lounge at Hong Kong International Airport will close on 5 November 2018. The premises will be returned to the lessor as part of the terminal redevelopment.

“While options for an alternative location are limited and not suitable, we will continue to explore new ways and partnerships that enhance our product and service offerings and which makes Marco Polo Club membership more rewarding.

“Other highly-acclaimed Cathay Pacific lounges at Hong Kong International Airport – including The Bridge, The Deck, The Pier, First and Business, The Wing, First and Business – will continue to provide customers with a premium and exclusive ground experience.”

It is unclear whether passengers arriving into Hong Kong beyond the November 5 closure date will be offered access to an alternative arrivals lounge, however.

Independent lounge operator Plaza Premium Group, for instance, operates its own arrivals lounge at the airport’s Terminal 2 building.

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Until earlier this year, Plaza Premium Group was responsible for operating all of Cathay Pacific’s lounges in Hong Kong. The airline has since switched operators in Hong Kong to French company Sodexo, though its overseas lounges continue to be operated by the Plaza Premium Group.

Cathay Pacific recently began trialling a pay-to-access scheme at three of its overseas lounges in Manila, Melbourne and Vancouver, in a decision likely aimed at testing the water for a new means of bringing in additional ancillary revenue.

Announcing the airline’s financial results for the first half of 2018 back in August, chairman John Slosar stated that the airline “expect[s] to generate more ancillary revenue” in the second half of 2018.