A Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) plan to turn Hengchun Airport into an international airport for charter flights would likely be given two years by the Executive Yuan to prove successful, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said yesterday.
MOTC Deputy Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that the proposal was put forward by the Pingtung County Government and that the airport would remain open.
The local government should be given two years to test if the plan is feasible, Wang said, adding that the airport would serve passengers arriving on charter flights or commercial jets.
The CAA said it is drafting the procedures that international flight passengers arriving at the airport would need to undergo, adding that the security equipment in the airport is still up to international airport standards.
Based on the CAA’s plan, Kaohsiung International Airport would be responsible for sending workers to Hengchun Airport whenever international flights arrive, including customs, immigration, quarantine and security staff.
The plan must be approved by the Executive Yuan before the service is made available, the CAA said.
Located near Kenting National Park, Hengchun Airport was launched in January 2004 and only offers flights between Taipei and Hengchun.
Three carriers were given rights to operate the route, including Mandarin Airlines, TransAsia Airways and Uni Air. However, flights were often canceled because of strong downslope winds.
Since 2007, Uni Air has been the only carrier operating on the route. The airline replaced its Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft with larger ATR 72-600 aircraft on the route.
The airport is unable to accommodate larger airplanes, making the service unfeasible.
No flight arrivals have been recorded at the airport since September 2014, CAA data showed.
Prior to that, arrivals numbers slid from about 23,000 in 2004 to about 11,000 in 2006. The number was down to just 2,448 by 2011, the CAA said.
Despite the lack of arrivals, the CAA still needs to budget for personnel and maintenance costs for Hengchun Airport, which reports annual losses of about NT$60 million (US$1.87 million).
The CAA had planned to shut down the airport and turn the property over to the military, a proposal opposed by the Pingtung County Government.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS