Faced with a shortage of local pilots, aviation industry officials, advocates and representatives of civil airlines yesterday jointly called for the establishment of a program to train pilots, with the airlines and the trainees sharing part of the expenses.
Shieh Chung-gang (
On average, a company has to spend NT$7 million (US$212,121) to NT$8 million to train a pilot, he said.
These expenses include the costs of attending aviation schools overseas, acquiring license certifications and real-time flight training.
However, most of the airline companies have found from experience that the percentage of those who fail these training courses is high, he said.
"We suggest that the civil airlines and the association form a joint review committee to choose qualified personnel for pilot training," Shieh said. "The association will then assist him or her in acquiring loans, which can be provided by banks or the China Aviation Development Foundation."
The airlines will still have to provide approximately two-thirds of the training expenses, he said.
The suggestion was proposed at a seminar hosted by the People First Party legislators Liu Wen-hsiung (
Officials from the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) were also present at the event.
Representatives from Mandarin Airlines, China Airlines, EVA Air and Uni Air cited other factors behind the pilot shortage.
Nearly all domestic carriers have been hurt by the competition from the high speed rail, they said, adding that because of the devaluation of the NT dollar, foreign pilots are in general paid more than domestic pilots.
The airlines also lamented the lack of progress in opening direct links. In light of the uncertainty regarding this policy, the airlines said they had to be cautious about drastically increasing the number of pilots.
A majority of the nation's pilots are retired Air Force officers. The Air Force, however, has expressed concern about retired officers going on to become commercial airline pilots.
Yu Yi-shi (
The CAA does not operate a pilot school, he said, adding that it is only in charge of certifying the legality and qualifications of the training center.
Liu, however, addressed the urgency of training more pilots.
Criticizing the airlines' refusal to invest in pilot training, he reminded them that they "cannot wait for the full opening of the market in China and start training pilots then."
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS