Airline licence body warns Hong Kong Express of possible action over ‘golden week’ cancellations

The body that licenses airlines in Hong Kong has warned of possible action against Hong Kong Express over its raft of late-notice “golden week” cancellations. That came as the carrier admitted the debacle was partly due to an exodus of safety trainers 2 months ago, that had affected its number of qualified crew members and pilots. The Air Transport Licensing Authority demanded a report, explaining the disruptive cancellations, from the airline within a week. Transport minister Frank Chan Fan, who criticised HK Express for having acted “irresponsibly”, also hinted the airline could have breached the terms of its licence. The carrier made a public apology Sunday, 2 days after it emerged it had pulled 18 regular flights between Hong Kong and Osaka, Nagoya and Seoul, scheduled to fly from Oct 1 to 8. <br/>