Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines sacks team behind cancellation of over 100 flights

A new team that failed to heed protocol and made poor decisions, as well as external factors, are to blame for the cancellation of over 100 Greater Bay Airlines flights in Hong Kong, according to a report by the carrier, which has also said the staff responsible have been fired.

In its report to the Civil Aviation Department publicised on Wednesday, the airline acknowledged concerns had been raised over its decision last month to cancel 128 flights throughout February and March, affecting 5,500 passengers travelling to and from Thailand, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

“[The airline] implemented a revised corporate structure in non-operational areas in late 2024, which included investing in employing extra new commercial and planning management personnel,” the report said, adding the staff had experience at other airlines but were unfamiliar with their new role.

But the report said the team failed to heed the airline’s “required protocol for cancellation decision making, took excessive time to make decisions, communicated the decision poorly, and did not consider the [company’s] customer service response capability”.

The report said the team had since been “removed from the company”, and that “stringent, weekly management reviews” would be conducted from now on.

The airline also said high-level authorisation would be required for any future cancellations.

“The effects of these cancellations have been the greatest challenges in [Greater Bay Airline’s] development since the inception of the company,” the report added.