Greater Bay Airlines Co has canceled more than 100 flights in February and March after a delay in the delivery of new planes and the need for maintenance checks meant it didn’t have enough aircraft to fly the planned routes.
The Hong Kong-based startup said the 128 cancellations will affect around 5,500 passengers.
Services during the busy Chinese New Year period won’t be impacted, the airline said in a statement.
The carrier, which operates an all-Boeing Co fleet of eight 737-800s, said “negligence” was found in its flight scheduling procedures. It has tightened up protocols to avoid a repeat of the incident, it said in the statement.
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“We will seriously learn from the experience and review the relevant arrangements to avoid occurrence of similar situations,” said the airline.
Greater Bay Airlines, which started commercial operations in 2022, plans to suspend its Hong Kong-Seoul route, citing a lack of demand.
The minnow has continued to make losses and has yet to make serious inroads into the market share of Cathay Pacific Airways, the Hong Kong flag carrier.
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The Hong Kong Transport and Logistics Bureau said it has ordered the airline to submit a report to better understand the incident.
The secretary for transport and logistics has spoken with the airline’s senior management over the issue.