The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is evaluating the Civil Aeronautics Administration’s (CAA) suggestion that it revoke Far Eastern Air Transportation’s (FAT) air operator certificate, after the airline on Dec. 13 abruptly announced that it would cease operations, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
“We have received a recommendation from the CAA, which says that FAT’s air operator certificate should be revoked per the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法). The ministry’s Department of Aviation and Navigation, and Legal Department have asked the civil aviation authority to offer a more complete report as grounds for certificate revocation,” Lin said.
While the airline has said that it has found investors to fund its operations and is seeking to resume flight services, the CAA has yet to allow the airline to do so.
Photo: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Taipei Times
FAT on Monday announced that it would have to delay paying employees’ salaries after Taiwan Cooperative Bank seized its operational funds, adding that a Hong Kong firm is interested in investing in the airline.
However, financial problems are only part of the airline’s troubles, Lin said.
FAT has contravened the act by ceasing operations without any advance notice, which could cost the airline its air operator certificate, he said.
Although the airline has spoken many times about potential investors, Lin said this should be treated as a separate matter.
“FAT should honestly face its financial situation, as it has trouble even paying its employees. Its top priority should be to take care of its employees,” Lin said.
The ministry is not experiencing any pressure to settle the matter quickly, he added.
Aviation safety is the ministry’s guiding principle in deciding whether the airline should be permitted to resume flight services, he said.
“The airline has claimed that [some of] its employees had misjudged the situation and erroneously made the announcement to cease operations. Its response confirmed the CAA’s worst fears. Before we can revoke [FAT’s] license, we not only have to consider that it has contravened the law, but also need to ensure that we strictly follow legal procedures in revoking its certificate, in case it challenges us in court,” he said.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that even if the ministry does not revoke FAT’s license, the airline would have to complete several procedures before it can resume flight services.
Revoking FAT’s air operator certificate is a serious matter, and the ministry wants to ensure that it is backed by solid legal arguments if it decides to do so, Wang said, adding that the CAA has been asked to ascertain the rules of the act that the airline might have contravened.
Although the airline offered flights to Japan, South Korea and China, a majority of its flights were domestic, particularly to the outlying Kinmen and Penghu counties, Wang said, adding that the airline controls about one-third of the market share.
The ministry has plans to transport people to the outlying islands for Saturday’s elections and for the Lunar New Year holiday in case it revokes FAT’s certificate, Wang said.
The two other domestic carriers — Uni Air and Mandarin Airlines — can offer additional flights or use larger aircraft to transport the additional passengers, he said.
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