The nation’s travel industry lost NT$50 million (US$1.54 million) as a result of a strike called by flight attendants that caused the cancelations of more than 100 flights operated by China Airlines (CAL), Travel Agent Association spokesman Lee Chi-yue (李奇嶽) said.
The strike disrupted the itineraries of many tourist groups, because the flights scheduled to take them home or take them to their travel destinations were canceled, Lee said.
The labor dispute that led to the strike beginning at 12am on Friday was resolved late on Friday evening, after the airline agreed to the demands of the flight attendants.
The striking flight attendants are to return to work tomorrow, their union said.
However, the nation’s major travel agencies lost from NT$6 million to NT$8 million on Friday, Lee said.
Lee said that with the disruption to scheduled flights expected to last until today, travel industry losses over the three days are set to top NT$50 million.
Lee said that the association would demand compensation from CAL, adding that the Travel Agent Association had arranged to meet with CAL representatives tomorrow to discuss the issue of compensation.
According to the Tourism Bureau, travel agencies are innocent third parties in the incident.
CAL and the travel agencies, which are in a commercial partnership, should negotiate how the compensation should be paid, the bureau said.
Due to the strike, 67 CAL flights that were scheduled to depart from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) from 6am to 10pm on Friday were canceled, affecting at least 20,000 passengers and resulting in revenue losses of about NT$160 million for the airline.
Travel agency Cola Tour said it canceled 52 tours on Friday, while travelers on another 40 of its tours were unable to return to Taiwan.
Lion Travel Service spokesman Andy Yu (游國珍) said his agency canceled more than 40 tours on Friday, affecting about 600 people.
He said his company would hold talks with CAL to discuss matters related to the aftermath of the strike.
Yesterday, 55 China Airlines flights scheduled to depart from or arrive at Taoyuan and Songshan airports before 5pm were also canceled, affecting more than 10,000 passengers.
The airline had to destroy more than 30,000 in-flight meals that had been prepared for passengers on flights that were canceled.
The deal reached between CAL management and the representatives of the striking flight attendants included allowing CAL flight attendants to report for duty at Songshan airport rather than at the more distant Taoyuan airport, and raising the subsidies for those on duty overseas to US$4 per hour from Friday and to US$5 from May 1, next year, up from US$3 per hour.
The subsidy hikes are to apply to union members only.
CAL reported an annual profit of NT$5.76 billion last year.
The increase in the subsidy is expected to cost the airline an additional NT$2.5 billion per year, local media reported.
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