Start-up air carrier Starlux Airlines is to undertake a 50-hour aircraft proving test administered by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) this week, one of the key criteria that the company must meet before it begins operations in January.
The airline generated media attention last month when its chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒), also a pilot, flew the company’s first Airbus SE A321neo to Taiwan from Hamburg, Germany.
The CAA said that it is examining the airline’s operations before giving it permission to offer flight services. So far, the company has undergone two emergency evacuation drills for cabin crew and a verbal examine for the ground crew.
As for the 50-hour aircraft proving test for international and domestic flights, the administration said that 10 of the 50 hours must be flown at night.
The test administrator from the CAA would be on board each flight and question the pilots during the trip, the agency said, adding that pilots would be tested on their ability to handle various situations.
For the assessments on international flights, the administration said that the reviews would be administrated on flights to Southeast Asian destinations that the company plans to offer during the initial phase of its operations.
Because it is also the first time that a Taiwanese airline has used the A321neo for flight services, the administration would examine how the aircraft operates on different international routes.
Starlux said earlier this year that it would begin service on Jan. 23, when it would launch with simultaneous flights to Macau; Da Nang, Vietnam; and Penang, Malaysia.
The airline also said that it is planning flights to Japan and South Korea in the second half of next year.
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