The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) deferred a decision yesterday on whether financially troubled Far Eastern Air Transport Corp (FAT, 遠東航空) can participate in the cross-strait market.
The airline submitted a plan on May 3 to lease aircraft from other airlines, apply for rights to offer cross-strait charter flight services and resume operations, the CAA said in a press release yesterday.
The agency asked airline officials to make a presentation yesterday.
“FAT said in the meeting that it originally planned to lease a DH8-300 model aircraft from UNI Airways Corp (立榮航空), but UNI told FAT that it would have a problem with that kind of arrangement. This development will change the plans FAT submitted,” the press release said.
FAT’s special license to operate an airline company expires tomorrow. But CAA administrative procedures allow the expiration date to be pushed back to the next working day, which would be Monday, so FAT technically has until 12am on Tuesday to submit a revised plan to the CAA.
CAA Director-General Lee Lung-wen (李龍文) said FAT only owns four aircraft, but none of them can be used now because the engines are being used as bank collateral.
In addition, since its four aircraft have been grounded for a period of time, the airline must reapply for their safety certification.
Lee said FAT still owed CAA unpaid fees of approximately NT$170 million as of last month.
To operate regular cross-strait flights, an airline must have a valid air operator’s certificate, Lee said, “and it must also have safe aircraft that can provide the service.”
Lee said that the CAA would set up a strict timeline that lists FAT’s commitments to meet its financial obligations, even if it approves the company’s plan to resume operations.
“If we can’t cash any one of their promises, the rest of their checks will be considered to have bounced as well,” Lee said, adding that there would be no point in “continuing a terrible show.”
Meanwhile, Lee said that Taiwanese and Chinese officials are negotiating the possibility of allowing Taiwanese airlines to have “first freedom of air,” which means the airlines could fly one of the northern routes over Chinese territory agreed to in cross-strait talks and continue onto Europe.
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