Consumer watchdog records 28 complaints related to suspended balloon rides
發佈日期: 2025-09-05 23:50
TVB News
The Consumer Council received 28 complaints as of Friday regarding the cancellation of the tethered rides at the Hong Kong International Hot Air Balloon Fest.
This came after the organisers failed to secure an approval for the rides from the government.
The second day of the hot air balloon festival kicked off with a morning session -- between 7:30 and 11:30 a.m. Each adult ticket for the session costs 200 dollars, allowing visitors to look at aerostats of different sizes.
But the hope of seeing balloons in the air was deflated for some people after flat balloons were spotted on the ground. After several attempts of inflating the balloons, the four aerostats managed to stay in the air for about 30 minutes.
During the process, burn marks appeared on a balloon surface.
At around 10 a.m., an announcement was made saying the session would end early because of the hot weather. The announcement was not taken well by some visitors, who described the event as "wasting their time".
A Thai hot air balloon team member said the weather is an issue.
SOPSA, Thai Hot Air Balloon Team:"Mini balloons don't like wind too much. If the wind is too much, mini balloons will go another (direction); not straight."
By the evening session, several balloons were inflated.
One of the most anticipated activities at the festival is the tethered ride experience -- providing customers a chance to enjoy the city's night scenery 10 to 20 metres above the ground.
However, the session was suspended on the first two days of the event because of the failure to secure an approval from the government.
As of 5 p.m. on Friday, the Consumer Council has received 28 complaints in relation to the cancellation, involving a sum of more than 40,000 dollars.
A barrister urges consumers to take notice of organisers' reputation.
FOSTER YIM, Barrister-at-Law:"This is not a legal matter but more of a matter of business, marketing or branding. In the future, if any customer want to participate in anything similar, I think finding whether the organisers have enough confidence to the customers' end would be more practically applicable for them to decide whether they should participate in any of the events or not."
