After two separate incidents of pilots failing alcohol tests in the past month, members of the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday proposed filing criminal charges against pilots who are found under the influence of alcohol.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Cheng Pao-ching (鄭寶清), Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) and Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said that pilots who drink alcohol directly before reporting for duty should face criminal charges.
Cheng said he found it ironic that the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) would list the punishment for lightweight-aircraft pilots in the Civil Aviation Act (民航法) if they were found to intend to operate the aircraft under the influence of alcohol.
However, the penalties for pilots operating large civilian aircraft for the same offense is stipulated in the Aircraft Flight Operation Regulations (飛航作業管理規則), which are lower in legal status compared with the act, he said.
The CAA should consider amending the Civil Aviation Act, because drunk drivers can be charged for endangering public safety, Cheng said.
According to the CAA, airlines on average randomly test about one-third of their pilots when they report for duty, and airport officials randomly test about 3 percent to 5 percent of pilots.
The CAA should subject all pilots to alcohol testing when they report for work, Cheng and Chao said.
Lin said that an airline is to face a fine between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 if one of its pilots fails an alcohol test, but the fine is too small.
The penalty should be 10 times more than that, he said.
CAA Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said that pilots should not be under the influence of alcohol when they are on duty, including when they sign in, wait to get on an airplane, do preparatory work in the cockpit and fly an aircraft.
Airline ground crew and copilots should report if the captain is behaving strangely, as happened in a case in Canada recently, he said.
Lin said that the CAA is to meet with airline representatives within two weeks and will discuss proper ways to screen pilots for alcohol use.
Meanwhile, United Airlines’ forceful removal of a passenger from a US flight over his refusal to yield his seat was also the focus of the committee meeting.
Lawmakers said they were concerned that Taiwanese airlines might bump passengers off an overbooked flight in a similar way.
Lin said that no domestic airline has ever treated a passenger that way, adding that the CAA had only received three complaints related to overbooked flights.
Lin said that it is common for airlines to oversell flights to increase occupancy rates, particularly in peak travel seasons.
However, the CAA does not have data showing the number of seats that domestic airlines have oversold each year, he said.
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
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
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