Great Wall Airlines flies again
Sino-Singapore all-cargo carrier Great Wall Airlines resumed operations between Shanghai and Amsterdam on Sunday after five months of inactivity caused by its placement on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of designated companies.
In August, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on one of the
Shanghai-based airline’s parents, China Great Wall Industry Corp. and all of its subsidiaries. The department accused the airline of supplying Iran with weapons of mass destruction. The decision prohibited American companies from providing technical support to Great Wall, forcing the airline to shut down. The decision was overturned at the end of 2006.
Great Wall started operations in June 2006 with a six-times-weekly freighter service between Shanghai and Amsterdam. Later additions to its network included Seoul Incheon Airport in South Korea, as well as a thrice weekly service between Shanghai and India's Mumbai and Chennai.
“We received tremendous support from the CAAC (Civil Aviation
Administration of China) in gearing up to resume our services, and we wish to register our gratitude. Our promise to our customers remains the same — quality service, and a commitment to safe and reliable operations,” said Tan Kai Ping, president of Great Wall, in a statement.
The airline is jointly owned by the Beijing Aerospace Satellite
Applications Corp. (51 percent), part of China Great Wall Industry Corp.; Singapore Airlines Cargo (25 percent); and Dahlia Investments (24 percent), a subsidiary of Singapore-state owned Temasek Holdings.
