Far Eastern Air Transport could face a partial or complete suspension of its flight services if it fails to improve its operations within a designated period of time, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said yesterday.
The nation’ aviation authority sent an official warning to the domestic carrier on Monday evening after several lawmakers at the legislature’s Transportation Committee questioned the safety of the airline.
According to the agency, the airline reported that one of its aircraft experienced an in-flight shutdown on a flight from Taipei to Kinmen on April 13, which the airline said was caused by a bird strike.
An in-flight shutdown means that the aircraft’s engine shuts down when the aircraft is in the air. The incident can occur if an aircraft’s engine malfunctions, or it could be initiated by the flight crew for safety reasons.
On April 16, another Taipei-Kinmen flight was delayed for more than two hours after a signaling system abnormality was detected on the aircraft’s dashboard.
On Thursday last week, the airline was accused of continuing to offer flights from Kaohsiung to Guiyang City in China, despite a large crack in the windshield of the cockpit caused by a hailstone.
Although the airline had informed the CAA about these incidents, the agency said it had yet to see the airline adopt higher standards to address safety issues.
In addition to two senior flight safety inspectors, the agency decided to dispatch two other inspectors to the company to ensure that it follows all aspects of the aviation safety protocol laid out by the government.
Founded in 1957, the airline initially offered both domestic and international flight services. However, after a series of financial crises in 2008, the airline suspended flights for three years and only restarted services in 2011.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS