Passenger flights between Taiwan and Canada are projected to increase by 61 percent within two years following the signing of a new aviation pact between the two countries yesterday. The pact was inked by Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Director-General Jean Shen (沈啟) and Canadian Trade Office in Taipei Executive Director Kathleen Mackay.
Aside from increasing the number of passenger flights, the agreement has lifted the cap on cargo flights and listed relevant clauses on aviation safety.
“This arrangement recognizes the ongoing demand for the transport of people and goods between Canada and Taiwan, and reflects a desire to improve upon our strong long-term economic and people-to-people relationships,” Mackay said in a statement.
According to the CAA, the previous aviation pact between the two nations allowed Taiwanese carriers to offer a total of 13 flights per week, including both passenger and cargo flights.
Currently, China Airlines (CAL) flies seven passenger flights to Vancouver, and EVA Airways (EVA) dispatches three passenger flights to Vancouver and three to Toronto.
Under the new agreement, passenger flights dispatched from both sides would increase to 17 per week.
In addition to removing the restrictions on cargo flights, the agreement allows Taiwanese carriers to carry goods from Canada and transport them to a third country.
CAA statistics showed that the average occupancy rate for flights to Canada was about 84 percent.
Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau said that the Canadian government waived the visa requirements for Taiwanese in 2010, which has helped increase the number of tourists traveling between the two countries to 137,0000 last year.
Both CAL and EVA said that they are assessing the possibility of increasing the flights to Canada.
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
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
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
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS