A United Parcel Service (UPS) freighter took off early yesterday morning to become the first US-bound flight from Taiwan since Tuesday's devastating attacks on America, while most other freighters remained stranded at CKS International Airport, waiting for the reopening of US airports.
"The first freighter left for the US at 12:09am this morning," Wan Chien (錢莞), a UPS Taiwan spokesman, told the Taipei Times yesterday.
According to Chien, following the issuance of an order by US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to reopen the air system at 11pm Thursday, UPS Taiwan resumed full operation yesterday. "As of 8pm, two UPS freighters had flown out of the country and one had arrived."
While UPS customers were glad that the express delivery company began moving packages to US destinations, high-tech companies located in Hsinchu are expecting further disappointment.
An official at the Hsinchu Science Park Administration said that many park firms originally expected the resumption of US-bound air cargo by Friday but were told they would have to wait one more day.
"These US-bound high-tech exports are piled up in the science park's warehouses," said Lu Li-kun (
Approximately 277 export items including semiconductors, PCs, communications components, motherboards and monitors have been put on hold at the park's warehouses since the air ban.
Both China Airlines Co (
"We have nothing to offer at the moment. All we can do now is await the reopening of US airports," said an EVA officer stationed at the science park's Warehouse and Transport Service Center. The officer, who requested anonymity, said it may take several days to deliver some 800 tonnes of delayed US-bound air cargo.
China Airlines, Taiwan's largest air carrier, declined to say how much cargo awaited delivery to the US, but said they were studying new restrictions for cargo flights required by the US and expected it would take a couple days for related services to return to normal.
To compound the headaches for high-tech firms, air cargo fees to the US have doubled over recent days. "I have heard that fees for US-bound air cargo transportation have jumped by 100 percent to NT$100 per kilogram on average," Lu said.
"As long as cargo flights to the US are stalled, the rate is supposed to keep rising," he said.
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