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.
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