Hong Kong-based budget carrier Greater Bay Airlines announced on Wednesday that it has cancelled 128 flights, equivalent to 64 roundtrips, scheduled for February and March. The cancellations, which affected about 5,500 passengers, were attributed to delays in the delivery of new aircrafts and routine inspections of its existing fleet.

The airline, which operates an all-Boeing fleet of eight 737-800s, confirmed the cancellations following earlier reports in Hong Kong media that suggested the suspension of over 200 flights between January and March.

While the airline’s statement did not specify which routes were affected, Hong Kong media reports indicated that flights to Japan, South Korea, and Thailand were among those impacted.

“An internal review in this matter has been carried out immediately and negligence was found in our flight scheduling process. We have also taken immediate action to tighten up the relevant approval procedure for flight scheduling,” Greater Bay Airlines said in the statement.

Despite the cancellations, Greater Bay Airlines assured passengers that flights during the Lunar New Year holiday next week would remain unaffected.

In response to the cancellations, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mable Chan, confirmed on Wednesday that authorities had met with the airline’s management, and requested a detailed report on the incident to be submitted within a week.

Adding to the challenges, Greater Bay Airlines also announced plans to cancel its Hong Kong-Seoul route due to lacklustre demand.

“The business performance of our Seoul route is not satisfactory and we have submitted an application to respective authorities in Hong Kong and South Korea for suspending the service after prudent consideration,” the airline said in the same statement.

This marks the latest in a series of route adjustments by the fledgling carrier. Last year, the airline discontinued services to Singapore and Vietnam, citing underperformance.

Founded in 2020 by mainland Chinese tycoon Bill Wong, who also owns Shenzhen-based Donghai Airlines, Greater Bay Airlines was envisioned as part of the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. The carrier began commercial operations in 2022 and currently flies to destinations across Mainland China, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand.

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