The government should only allow China Airlines and other members of the SkyTeam alliance to use Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 when it is completed in 2025, the China Airlines Employees Union said yesterday.
The union issued a statement after Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) acting chairman Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) on Monday said that all three Taiwanese international carriers — China Airlines, EVA Airways and Starlux Airlines — would be given priority to use the terminal, as well as carriers who offer flights from North America to Southeast Asian countries via Taiwan.
However, the union said this was different from the plan laid out by the airport operator in 2018.
Photo: CNA
Based on the original plan, the terminal would be exclusively used by SkyTeam alliance airlines, of which China Airlines is a member. EVA Airways and other Star Alliance airlines would use Terminal 2, while Oneworld Alliance carriers and budget airlines would use Terminal 1.
Starlux has yet to join any aviation alliance.
“The construction of the new terminal is estimated to cost NT$130 billion [US$4.05 billion], and people have high expectations for it. However, the terminal could become a laughingstock because of unprofessional arrangements by the TIAC,” the union said.
The airport operator’s 2018 plan would not only make it easier for transit passengers to board connecting flights, but it would also help the company save on operating costs, the union said, adding that it is also in sync with airports around the world.
“If the airport company allocates use of the three terminals by flight routes, airlines would need to have ground crew stationed in all three terminals,” the union said. “It would inconvenience transit passengers as they would have to change terminals to catch connecting flights. The transfer of luggage between different terminals could be a hassle too.”
US passengers to the Southeast Asian nations via Taiwan could miss their connecting flights if they only have a short time to locate the correct terminal and boarding gate, the union said.
“Suppose an aircraft is used to fly one group of passengers to Hong Kong in the morning and fly another group of passengers to Los Angeles in the afternoon. If the aircraft is parked at the terminal that accommodates US flights, those returning to Taiwan from Hong Kong must then pick up their baggage at the terminal that accommodates Hong Kong flights,” the union said.
If the aircraft is parked at the terminal for Hong Kong flights, then those boarding connecting flights to the US must go to the terminal for Hong Kong flights after checking their luggage in at the terminal for US flights, it said.
If a passenger is late in checking in their luggage and misses their flight, the airline would have to remove the checked luggage from the plane, which would delay the flight’s departure, the union said.
“In the past 17 years, we have been complying with the government’s policy of having ground crew stationed at the first and second terminals. Our reputation has been hurt because passengers are constantly confused as to which terminal they should go to to board flights, and our ground crew are suffering from running between the two terminals,” it said.
“It is disappointing that the airport company keeps ignoring the needs of passengers and the workload of the ground crew,” the union said.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
Tainan’s initiative to recruit digital nomads has resulted in several German, US and Vietnamese nationals applying to live and work in the city, the Tainan Research, Development and Evaluation Commission said yesterday. That marked the city as the first in the nation to attract digital nomads, following the launch of the program last month, it said. Although all applicants so far have used work visas or tourism visas instead of the special digital nomad permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the city government believes that the latter would be needed eventually, the commission said. The digital nomads recruited by Tainan would work
RSS