The Ministry of Transportation and Communications could revoke Far Eastern Air Transport’s (FAT) license if it does not improve its operations, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
Lin made the remark on the sidelines of a railway project inspection in Taichung when asked how the ministry would handle the situation after the carrier unexpectedly announced on Dec. 12 that it would cease operations.
While FAT chairman Chang Kang-wei (張綱維) on Dec. 13 told a news conference that the airline would try to resume operations with funding of NT$1 billion (US$33.1 million), the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) has not lifted a suspension on its flights, despite receiving an official explanation from the firm.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei times
As of yesterday, the airline said that it had received requests to refund more than 170,000 unused tickets.
“The airline’s flight services have been suspended and would not resume before next month’s Lunar New Year holiday,” Lin said. “We have made contingency plans, including speaking with other domestic carriers about offering more flights for travelers heading home.”
“On Monday, we started the second domestic flight booking session, which is still accepting reservations. We aim to ensure people returning to Penghu and Kinmen counties will have no trouble getting home,” he said.
The Financial Supervisory Commission and CAA are to look into FAT’s financial situation, which lacks transparency, he added.
“From the ministry’s perspective, we care most about aviation safety issues, which are also linked to the airline’s financial situation. We hope that the airline can show that it is really working toward resuming fight services,” Lin said.
“So far, the funds that the company has pledged to raise are not there. It has neither shown what it would do to take care of its employees in a responsible manner, nor addressed aviation safety issues,” he said.
The CAA is still reviewing the airline’s explanation, Lin said, adding that the most severe punishment would be for the administration to revoke FAT’s air operator certificate.
The airline should take full responsibility for what has happened to travelers, as well as its employees, regardless of what the consequences might be, he added.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS