Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) is being created as Hong Kong’s newest carrier and will make its inaugural flight on October 1, the 72nd anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, Report informs referring to South China Morning Post.
The National Day flight, which will take place amid an ongoing surge in coronavirus outbreaks around the globe, will be a charter to Beijing, according to the company’s director. While a timeline has now been set, GBA is still awaiting its operating license and air operating certificate. It expects to get the latter, which covers the commercial and safety requirements necessary to take-off, on September 17.
GBA, which will initially fly three Boeing 737 aircraft, will undergo a series of test flights from the middle of the month overseen by the city’s aviation regulator, a key stage in securing permits to start flying.
In January, GBA formally bid for a license allowing it to fly to more than 100 destinations across Asia. Almost half of the routes in the bid are to destinations on the mainland.
As part of the license compliance process, principal shareholder Bill Wong Cho-bau – who owns Shenzhen-based Donghai Airlines – pumped in an additional HK$250 million ($32.1 million), according to a Companies Registry filing on June 30.
Wong previously said he was investing HK$2 billion into GBA’s launch, with a predicted 300 employees to start.