Hong Kong Airlines hit with lawsuits over training centre

Hong Kong-based Hip Hing Construction Company Limited has slapped cash-strapped Hong Kong Airlines (HX, Hong Kong Int’l) with its second lawsuit in the space of a week, alleging non-payment of fees plus interest totalling HKD296.4 million Hong Kong dollars (USD38.2 million) linked to the building of an aviation training centre. The claim, filed at the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on May 4, followed a suit which Fuzhou-based Industrial Bank lodged against the airline on April 28, chasing unpaid dues related to the construction of the same building, the South China Morning Post reported citing court documents. Situated in Chek Lap Kok on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island, the HKD1.8 billion (USD232 million) 11-storey Hong Kong Airlines Aviation Training Centre houses 24 classrooms and 12 flight simulators, a training hall, and a swimming pool, among other facilities. Hip Hing’s claim relates to a contract it signed with Hong Kong Airlines on November 29, 2018, but the court filing provided no further details other than the outstanding sum: HKD216 million (USD27.8 million) plus HKD80.4 million (USD10.4 million) in interest up to the end of April. Interest will continue to be calculated, it added, at the rate of 15% per year until payment is made, as stipulated in the contract. Industrial Bank filed its lawsuit over the alleged non-payment of two loans of unspecified amounts. The 5,858sqm plot of land where the centre sits was used as collateral, local media reported. The bank asked the court to order the airline to repay or surrender the land. ch-aviation has asked Hong Kong Airlines for comment.