The Civil Aviation Department has taken prompt measures to minimise passenger inconvenience following the cancellation of 18 Hong Kong Express flights this week.
In a statement issued today, the department said it has asked the airline's officials to attend to the matter personally to ensure the welfare of the affected passengers.
The department has urged the airline's management to safeguard the interests of travellers and seek help from other local airlines to serve its passengers.
It has also asked the airline to submit a detailed report this week on the reasons for the cancellation, the remedial measures taken and long-term solutions to the problem.
The department said its regular inspection mechanism uncovered the resignation of the airline's safety training instructors and it has been following up on the issue.
Following the sudden and unusual cancellation of a scheduled assessment for one of its safety trainers, the department met the airline's management on August 17 and learned that all of the trainers in its safety training department would leave the company.
The department then asked the airline to submit a report on the details of the departures and solutions as soon as possible.
In September the airline revealed its contingency manpower plan which included reinstating two resigned trainers and employing two new trainers on a contract basis.
The airline later told the department it has filled its safety training department's vacancies and it would apply for approval for the recruits' deployment upon completion of their training.
It also confirmed a resumption of the recurrent safety training for its crew, pledging that its flight operations would not be affected.
Based on the information provided by the airline, the department said it has reasonable grounds to believe in its pledge of unaffected services.
However, the airline notified the department on September 28 of its decision to cancel the flights, giving only two days' notice.
The department said it was concerned and disappointed by this sudden development which was at odds with the information provided by the airline.
Its statement said it is extremely undesirable for the airline not to have proactively and accurately notified the department of a possible extensive cancellation of flights during the peak travel season.
The department added it will take follow-up actions upon receipt of the airline's report.
