Air Belgium will announce the end of its flights between Charleroi and Hong Kong, according to the newspaper, L’Avenir. The paper noted that an official company announcement will be made today. The route, which had just started on 6 June, was the first long-distance connection from the Charleroi airport. The connection is expected to be stopped in early October.
On the reasons for the discontinuation, a source cites a “change of business model”, without wanting to comment further. Air Belgium had hoped to transport 500,000 passengers in one year between Belgium and China. But the airline is struggling to fill its planes to Hong Kong. The weather, especially the recent typhoon that swept the region, is also advanced as one of reasons for the cancellation.
Air Belgium has a fleet of four aircraft (Airbus A340). These will be used for flights for other companies, as was already the case, to a certain degree. For example, one plane is currently operating on behalf of British Airways. The airline also wanted to set up scheduled flights to other destinations in China (Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Taiyuan), but these plans will not be carried out either.
Arthur Rubinstein
The Brussels Times
