HNA Group business jet unit Hongkong Jet has declared itself innocent of any wrongdoing, following a Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) announcement that it will be banned from Mainland China for three years.
“Hongkong Jet was surprised to learn that the CAAC yesterday published a statement on their website announcing that Hongkong Jet would be restricted from applying for certain Chinese permits for a period of three years,” says the company in a statement.
It adds that it wants to gain clarification on the matter and return to normal operations. It has received no direct word from the CAAC itself about the ban.
“The CAAC has apparently based this preliminary statement on an independent investigation into an alleged irregular letter of invitation which was forwarded to Hongkong Jet by one of its managed aircraft clients.”
The original CAAC statement said Hongkong Jet was being punished for issuing “false documents” when applying for a flight plan during and unspecified “state-level event.”
“We fully support the CAAC or any other lawful entity investigating this event and wish to give the assurance that Hongkong Jet has not knowingly participated in this event and is not responsible for any offence,” adds Hongkong Jet.
“Hongkong Jet is nevertheless negatively affected by this statement and a victim of circumstance rather than a contributing party to this unfortunate event.”
Flight Fleets Analyzer shows the Hong Kong charter operator with five in service aircraft. It has one Airbus ACJ318, two ACJ319s, one A330-200, and a Gulfstream 550.
The four Airbus aircraft are registered in Bermuda. The Gulfstream is registered in China.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
