Br J Educ Technol. 2022;00:1–32. | 1 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/bjet Received: 27 September 2021 | Accepted: 24 January 2022 DOI: 10.1111/bjet.13185 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Online aviation learning experience during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong and Mainland China Davy Tsz Kit Ng © 2022 British Educational Research Association Funding Information The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Correspondence Davy Tsz Kit Ng, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Email: davyngtk@connect.hku.hk Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unex- pected digital revolution, speeding up universities' digital transformation worldwide. It has brought heavy disruptions to travel and mobility worldwide, but it drives the opportunity for hosting region-wide or even international academic exchanges through learning programs, workshops, and conferences via an al- ternative online mode. This study reports on a case study of a 1-month online aviation learning program that engaged 108 university students from Mainland China and Hong Kong during the lockdown. At first, we first recruited students in Hong Kong; however, the program registration was unsatisfactory. This could be attributed to the students' perceived future aviation career prospects and readiness of emergent remote teaching during the pandemic. In the program, we designed an alternative blended learning approach to attract students to sustain their aviation learning. First, we transformed the activities from face-to-face (F2F) to online settings using digital technologies in- cluding flight simulation and virtual visits in a web- conferencing environment. Second, we extended the reach of the event and attracted a larger audience in the neighbouring regions in Mainland China. It turned