EVA Air Corp (長榮航空) yesterday canceled 50 flights after about 500 of the company’s flight attendants went on strike, leaving operations at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in disarray.
They have exercised their right to ask for leave of absence due to a natural disaster and have followed the proper procedures, the nation’s second-largest airline said.
EVA Air spokesperson J.C. Kuo (柯金城) at a news conference at the airport apologized for the inconvenience caused by the strike and said that the company would assist passengers in changing or refunding tickets free of charge.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
He also thanked the ground staff and flight attendants who came to work yesterday.
Kuo said he could not speculate on the motives of employees who chose to go on strike the day after Typhoon Nesat hit the nation, adding that further calculations are needed to determine the financial losses caused by the strike.
The airline had planned to resume normal operations yesterday morning after the weather caused it to cancel or postpone several flights scheduled to depart on Saturday.
However, the company received more than 500 requests from flight attendants for leave yesterday after all counties declared a typhoon day.
Despite making major adjustments, the company said it still needed to cancel 50 flights.
An estimated 10,000 passengers were affected, the company said, adding that it has activated a contingency plan to reduce its effects.
Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC, 桃園國際機場公司) said it has allowed EVA Air and its passengers to use the airport’s conference room to negotiate compensation or leave.
It also advised the airline to divide the delayed passengers into different groups based on travel destinations and handle them in separate batches.
Apart from increasing security personnel to maintain order in the terminals, TIAC said that restaurants in the airport have been asked to ascertain whether they have enough food to meet the demands of stranded passengers.
The passengers care about how the airline will help them change tickets to other carriers, TIAC president Hsiao Ting-ko (蕭登科) said.
EVA Air has asked some of its off-duty employees to return to work and assist at the check-in counters, Hsiao said, adding that it has also distributed meal tickets and water to the affected passengers.
The strike has affected many tour groups traveling to or from Japan, the Tourism Bureau said.
As of 4pm yesterday, 1,003 such travelers had canceled their trips, while 1,324 Taiwanese tourists in Japan were unable to return, bureau statistics showed.
The airline’s labor-management contract grants permission for flight attendants to take a leave of absence after natural disasters.
The contract was negotiated after the company was found to have dispatched 45 flights when the nation was still under the influence of Typhoon Megi last year.
Commenting on the airline’s response, the EVA Air Corporate Union said it was upset that the company took it for granted that employees would work on a typhoon day and had passed the buck to the flight attendants.
Working on a typhoon day would mean operating in a high-risk environment, the union said, adding that they would gladly cooperate with the company if it can guarantee their safety and enforce other measures.
The employees’ absence was legal, as government regulations allow workers to skip work for safety reasons if local governments announce that all offices are to be closed due to a natural disaster, the Ministry of Labor said.
Although employers may deduct wages for the day, they cannot mark an employee absent or ask them to make up missing hours, it said.
The work contract has precedence over government regulations, the ministry added.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications could not be reached for comment as of press time last night.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
TAIWAN DEFENSE: The initiative would involve integrating various systems in a fast-paced manner through the use of common software to obstruct a Chinese invasion The first tranche of the US Navy’s “Replicator” initiative aimed at obstructing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be ready by August, a US Naval Institute (USNI) News report on Tuesday said. The initiative is part of a larger defense strategy for Taiwan, and would involve launching thousands of uncrewed submarines, surface vessels and aerial vehicles around Taiwan to buy the nation and its partners time to assemble a response. The plan was first made public by the Washington Post in June last year, when it cited comments by US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
RSS