Far Eastern Air Transport Corp (FAT), whose flights were grounded by the government after it abruptly canceled all flights last month, yesterday said that a team of investors HAS agreed to take over the airline if it is allowed to resume services.
“I am asking the government to do us a favor: help new management to swiftly take over the company and allow FAT to operate again,” FAT chairman Chang Kang-wei (張綱維) said, adding that the funding would first be used to pay the salaries owed to FAT’s 1,000 employees since last month as well as other debts.
The undertaking is for an injection of NT$3 billion (US$99.9 million), said Tsai Hui-ling (蔡慧玲), a lawyer who represents the investment team led by Taiwanese investor Tsai Meng-che (蔡孟哲).
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
However, the bailout depends on the government allowing FAT to resume flights and listing follow-up requirements, Tsai Hui-ling said.
The investors would be upset if the government cancels FAT’s civil aviation flight permit, as that would mean the airline would have to spend at least six months going through airworthiness tests, Tsai Hui-ling added.
Chang and Tsai Hui-ling made the remarks as the Ministry of Transportation and Communications moved toward canceling FAT’s permits, based on recommendations from the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
The ministry said that Chang has failed five times since Dec. 13 to keep his promise about securing new funding, when he told the public that the abrupt announcement a day earlier was caused by a misunderstanding among the management over the airline’s financial situation.
Chang’s top priority should be looking after the company’s employees, it asid.
“Chairman Chang said in a news conference on Dec. 13 that it was his employees, not him, who misjudged the situation and erroneously announced that the airline would cease operations, adding that it was applying to resume flight services. He has falsely promised five times that funding for the company would soon arrive and still owes his employees last month’s salary. As the nation is to start celebrating the Lunar New Year holiday tomorrow, we urge him to take full responsibility and quickly pay his employees the salaries he owes,” the ministry said.
Regardless of whether the ministry revokes FAT’s air operator certificate, any investor interested in funding the airline should first file an application per the regulations in the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法), it said.
The airline must also pass a five-stage review before it can be allowed to resume flight services, it added.
The airline must have at least NT$6 billion in capital if it seeks to offer international flight services and at least NT$1.5 billion if it wants to be a domestic carrier, the ministry said.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘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
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS