Part of the Aviation Police Bureau’s budget for next year has been frozen in response to chaos last month at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport as Taiwan’s baseball team returned after winning the Premier12 championship in Japan.
The legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday froze NT$10 million (US$306,110) of the bureau’s NT$3.96 billion budget, which is from the Civil Aviation Administration’s (CAA) Civil Aviation Operation Fund.
The bureau’s primary duty is to maintain safety and order at airports, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) said.
Photo: CNA
However, when the team returned on Nov. 25 after winning the Premier12 final against Japan, staff from Taiwan Duty Free at the airport forced their way in to get photographs with the vice president and even pushed away some players, Lee said.
Lee, who proposed the funds be frozen, said that the bureau would not have access to the money until it files a report on how to address similar situations. The committee seconded Lee’s proposal.
Bureau Commissioner Chiu Wen-liang (邱文亮) said there was a last-minute change of route that the team and officials took through the airport, and the bureau had to quickly adapt.
The route switch might have led to holes in the airport’s management, Chiu said.
Addressing other matters, lawmakers asked the CAA to step up installation of drone detection systems at airports nationwide and enhance airports’ digital resilience against hackers.
So far, only Taoyuan airport, Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and Kaohsiung International Airport have such systems, DPP Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said.
Two Chinese drones were detected near Nangan Airport in Lienchiang County in July, delaying two flights, Lin said, adding that national security risks might emerge, given the county’s proximity to China.
In September, hackers abroad launched a cyberattack against Web sites of government agencies, affecting Songshan airport, Lin said, adding that even though no flights were delayed, the incident showed that the airport was susceptible to cyberattacks.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Ming-che (魯明哲) said runways at Taoyuan airport were shut down seven times from 2019 to last year because of drones.
Although the first phase of a drone detection system developed by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology was installed in June last year, Taoyuan airport needs to quickly implement the second phase and increase its capability to catch people who operate drones illegally in the area, he said.
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