Troubled Hong Kong Airlines told to submit ‘concrete plans’ to city’s licensing authority on improving financial health

Call is just latest in series of moves by Air Transport Licensing Authority in relation to cash-strapped carrier

Airline has faced numerous challenges in recent months including lawsuits and an exodus of top managers

2-MIN READ2-MIN

The carrier has gone from one problem to another in recent months. Photo: Airbus.

Published: 12:24am, 16 Mar 2019Updated: 6:40pm, 16 Mar 2019

The city’s airline licensing authority has told embattled Hong Kong Airlines to come up with a solid restructuring plan to improve the state of its finances.

In a statement on Friday night, the Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) – a statutory body with the power to shut down carriers and approve new ones – said it would require Hong Kong Airlines to produce a concrete plan to turn around its financial situation.

The body has weighed in a number of times on the company’s increasingly troubled state of financial and legal affairs since December.

The airline, backed by mainland China’s HNA Group, has faced numerous challenges in recent months including an exodus of top managers and directors, lawsuits and worries over its cash flow and ability to pay its debts.

The airline could be cutting the size of its fleet by a quarter. Photo: Roy Issa

The company has rolled back expansion on long-haul routes to stem losses.

The increasingly agitated authority has gone from simply being in contact with the airline over its money woes, to following up on its situation, to calling out the company publicly to seek answers and clarifications.