The Control Yuan yesterday urged the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Ministry of National Defense to adopt more pragmatic approaches to reinforce the nation’s aviation safety, amid an increasing number of bird-aircraft strikes in civilian and military airports.
A recently concluded report on bird hazards to aircraft — launched by Control Yuan members Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏), Chen Yung-hsiang (陳永祥), and Chao Chang-ping (趙昌平) — found that birdstrikes had risen by about four-fold over the past four years, especially after the Civil Aeronautics Administration made it mandatory last year that airport control towers report all cases.
Singling out Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the report said that while the civilian airport recorded 25 and 28 bird strike incidents in 2009 and 2010 respectively, the number climbed to 64 last year and to an alarming 103 as of August this year.
“The sharp increase in bird strikes indicates that the issue is worsening day by day,” the report said.
The report attributed the unsettling increase to the airport’s spacious area, on which scores of soil piles have accumulated, coupled with a giant pond in the nearby naval aircraft-based airport which has practically become a bird habitat.
Although the international airport sought to reduce bird strike hazards by driving off birds at and near the airport last year, the approach was later called off after some anonymous complaints accusing the airport of transgressing the Wildlife Protection Act (野生動物保育法), the report said.
It said that Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and Kaohsiung International Airport also face similar problems.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS