Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu expressed profound sorrow over the recent Air India plane crash, underscoring Hong Kong’s sound mechanism to ensure flight safety.
“We feel grieved to see it happening with so many deaths. I send my condolences to those whose families suffered in this tragic accident,” Lee said during a media session before the weekly Executive Council meeting.
His remarks followed a tragedy involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport en route to London on June 12, claiming at least 270 lives.
Regarding an Air India flight bound for Delhi that returned to Hong Kong International Airport on Monday due to a reported mid-air technical issue, Lee assured that Hong Kong maintains a rigorous safety framework to safeguard air travel.
“We pay attention to aircraft safety, and relevant departments in Hong Kong will pay serious attention to the development and investigation of this incident,” he said.
Sources indicated that the aircraft involved was carrying over 200 passengers, all of whom were unharmed.
Initial findings revealed that the turnaround was prompted by an anomaly in the fuel tank filter.
Flight AI-315, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, departed Hong Kong at around 1pm before pilots detected a potential technical fault. As a precaution, the plane executed a safe return, touching down at around 1.15pm.
(Cheng Wong)
