Exclusive | Amid travel standstill, newcomer Greater Bay Airlines seeks Hong Kong approval to take off
- Civil aviation authorities processing new airline’s application for air operator’s certificate
- Shenzhen tycoon behind carrier eyeing budget market between China, Southeast Asia, and Northeast Asia, sources say
A new mainland China-backed carrier has applied to Hong Kong’s civil aviation authority to become the city’s fifth passenger airline, in an attempt to loosen the Cathay Pacific Group’s dominance.
Greater Bay Airlines is a rare newcomer in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic which has brought international air travel to a standstill, crippling the aviation industry across the world.
The Civil Aviation Department confirmed that Greater Bay Airlines Company Limited’s application for an air operator’s certificate (AOC) was submitted to it last month and was being processed.
It could be at least two years before the airline clears all the regulatory red tape to fly, an expert on Hong Kong aviation said.
The key man behind the venture is mainland property tycoon Bill Wong Cho-bau, who has been dubbed “Shenzhen’s Li Ka-shing” after one of Hong Kong’s richest men, and already runs Shenzhen-based Donghai Airlines.