The Ministry of Transportation and Communications could revoke Far Eastern Air Transport’s (FAT) license if it does not improve its operations, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
Lin made the remark on the sidelines of a railway project inspection in Taichung when asked how the ministry would handle the situation after the carrier unexpectedly announced on Dec. 12 that it would cease operations.
While FAT chairman Chang Kang-wei (張綱維) on Dec. 13 told a news conference that the airline would try to resume operations with funding of NT$1 billion (US$33.1 million), the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) has not lifted a suspension on its flights, despite receiving an official explanation from the firm.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei times
As of yesterday, the airline said that it had received requests to refund more than 170,000 unused tickets.
“The airline’s flight services have been suspended and would not resume before next month’s Lunar New Year holiday,” Lin said. “We have made contingency plans, including speaking with other domestic carriers about offering more flights for travelers heading home.”
“On Monday, we started the second domestic flight booking session, which is still accepting reservations. We aim to ensure people returning to Penghu and Kinmen counties will have no trouble getting home,” he said.
The Financial Supervisory Commission and CAA are to look into FAT’s financial situation, which lacks transparency, he added.
“From the ministry’s perspective, we care most about aviation safety issues, which are also linked to the airline’s financial situation. We hope that the airline can show that it is really working toward resuming fight services,” Lin said.
“So far, the funds that the company has pledged to raise are not there. It has neither shown what it would do to take care of its employees in a responsible manner, nor addressed aviation safety issues,” he said.
The CAA is still reviewing the airline’s explanation, Lin said, adding that the most severe punishment would be for the administration to revoke FAT’s air operator certificate.
The airline should take full responsibility for what has happened to travelers, as well as its employees, regardless of what the consequences might be, he added.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
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