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Hong Kong Express Airways canceled 18 flights between Hong Kong and three destinations in Japan and South Korea from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8, leaving over 2,000 travellers affected.

According to Hong Kong Express, the only low-fare airline in Hong Kong, the canceled flights on Sunday are round-trip flights between Hong Kong International Airport and Japan's Kansai International Airport (KIX).

Other canceled flights will be those between Hong Kong and Japan's Chubu Centrair International Airport(NGO) as well as South Korea's Incheon International Airport(ICN) scheduled from Oct. 2 to 8.

According to Hong Kong Express Airways, all the 2,070 passengers affected by the cancellations had been rearranged to take other airlines' flights or fully refunded as of Sunday evening.

Hong Kong Express Airways CEO Andrew Cowen said at a press conference that the cancellations was a tough but only choice of the airline since the company discovered there would be shortage of about five to six backup crew members each day during the holidays.

The airline decided to cancel those flights, otherwise there would be many risks to the safety of flights if the crew members on duty ask for emergency leave during the holidays, the CEO said.

The airline said most of the affected passengers have been arranged to take other airlines' flights with assistance of two local travel agencies.

The airline issued an apology on Sunday to those affected passengers.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(SAR) government said it is closely reviewing the aftermath of the cancellation.

The Civil Aviation Department has met with high-level executives of the Hong Kong airline and asked the airline to submit detailed report about the cancellation within one week.

Hong Kong Consumer Council lashed out at the airline for its irresponsibility, saying that the cancellation would not only impair passengers' confidence of the airline, but also affect Hong Kong's reputation as an international aviation hub.

Hong Kong Express commercial director Jonathan Hutt said, "I would like to offer my profound apologies for the flight cancellations that have affected the travel plans of some of our passengers during this important holiday season."