Hong Kong’s transport minister has expressed deep concern over flight cancellations by Greater Bay Airlines, with the carrier blaming the issue on delays in the delivery of newly ordered aircraft and the need to conduct inspections on existing planes.
A source said around 200 flights from January to March would be affected.
The airline, the smallest of the city’s carriers, apologised to affected passengers on Tuesday (Jan 21) and promised to allocate more staff to help them rebook or refund their tickets and waive all related fees.
The Transport and Logistics Bureau said its chief Mable Chan had reached out to senior executives of the airline to express her deep concern after being told about the cancellations.
“The bureau will arrange a meeting with airline representatives to understand the latest developments, and request they submit a report promptly and handle the situation with the primary goal of safeguarding passengers’ rights while providing a detailed explanation to affected passengers as soon as possible,” it said.
Chan also stressed that the smooth operation of Hong Kong airport depended on the cooperation of all carriers, especially local ones, and called on Greater Bay Airlines to present a comprehensive plan to lessen the impact on passengers.
The carrier said: “Due to delays in the delivery of newly ordered aircraft, and the need for some aircraft in our fleet to undergo scheduled safety inspections as required, (the airline had to) temporarily take them out of service and our overall flight schedule has been impacted.
“We have had to consolidate flights on certain routes, resulting in the cancellation of some flights. We sincerely apologise to all affected passengers.”
The company said it was “proactively” contacting affected passengers to rebook or refund their tickets and waive all related fees while allocating more staff to its customer service centre.
“We will seriously review the experience and relevant arrangements to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future,” the airline added.
Yuen Chun-ning, CEO of the WWPKG travel agency, said the company’s tour groups to Sendai in Japan were affected, with five scheduled for March cancelled.
“Fewer than 100 customers are involved. We will contact them to change travel dates or directly cancel them with full refunds,” he said.
Yuen said it was not the first time the city had seen a large number of flights being cancelled.
Cathay Pacific Airways cancelled almost 800 flights between December 2023 and February 2024 due to pilot illnesses and recruitment challenges.
