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.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from