Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines urged to expedite refunds over axed flights

Consumer Council chief executive Gilly Wong also says carrier should waive fees for customer requests to swap destinations

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Passengers wait in line at the Greater Bay Airlines counters at Hong Kong airport. Photo: Jelly Tse

Published: 12:42pm, 24 Jan 2025Updated: 5:56pm, 24 Jan 2025

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has called for Greater Bay Airlines to expedite refunds to customers affected by its large-scale flight cancellations, revealing that it has received six complaints involving about HK$14,000 (US$1,800).

Consumer Council chief executive Gilly Wong Fung-han said on Friday that the carrier should also ensure it does not charge customers any fees for swapping destinations and should respond promptly to their concerns when disseminating information.

“Refunds must be done quickly. If it is done slowly, it will only lead to secondary complaints,” she told a radio programme.

Wong noted that the watchdog had received six complaints concerning the cancellations as of Thursday night, involving about HK$14,000 in total. Complainants included those travelling to Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

“As the trips are relatively short and the complaints involve a budget carrier, the average amount of money involved in each complaint is about HK$2,400,” she said.

Consumer Council chief executive Gilly Wong has called on the carrier to waive fees for customer requests to swap destinations. Photo: Elson Li

The airline previously announced it had cancelled 128 flights scheduled for February and March, affecting about 5,500 passengers. But it had assured customers that flights over the coming Lunar New Year holiday would be unaffected.