Commercial flight carriers that experience a major accident will not be allocated aviation rights for three years following a recent amendment to the Regulations Governing the Allocation of International Air Traffic Rights and Charter Flights, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said yesterday.
The amendment was proposed after TransAsia Airways had two plane crashes in less than seven months, the first in July last year and the second in February.
Each carrier is to be evaluated in relation to policy and technical soundness when it comes to allocating aviation rights. In terms of policy, the government is to examine whether the carrier has been complying with the government’s regulations, as well as other factors, which is to account for 60 percent of the evaluation.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
On the technical side, the government is to evaluate the carrier’s flight safety record, operational plan and financial soundness, accounting for 40 percent of the assessment. Flight safety records are to account for 50 percent of the scores on the technical side. The regulations further ban carriers that have had plane crashes from being allocated any aviation rights within a year of the accident.
Many legislators said that the evaluation for aviation rights allocation does not give sufficient weight to an airline’s safety records and suggested a harsher punishment be given to carriers with poor aviation safety records.
CAA Director-General Lin Tyh-ming (林志明) said that the agency would tighten its supervision over the airlines, but added that a similar change has to happen on the policy side.
Lin said the change would be reviewed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, adding that the new regulations could be implemented next month.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost