Passengers are soon to be allowed to carry tripods and selfie sticks onto aircraft in their hand luggage, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said yesterday, adding that the length of those items must not exceed 60cm.
Air Transport Division director Han Chen-hua (韓振華) said that under current regulations, passengers can carry tripods in carry-on luggage if the items can be folded to a length not exceeding 25cm.
The rule was established over fears that long tripods could be used to bludgeon people.
Due to the popularity of selfie sticks, more passengers want to carry them onto aircraft, Han said, adding that the government consulted Japanese regulations before deciding to change the rules.
Taiwan and Japan are the only nations in the world that ban travelers from carrying long tripods onto aircraft, he said.
The rules were changed to strike a balance between the needs of passengers, aviation safety and maintaining order in the flight cabin, he said, adding that the rule change should take effect this month.
In related news, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport ranked No. 1 in terms of service quality last year among international airports servicing 25 million to 40 million passengers per year in the Airports Council International latest report.
Taoyuan airport was followed by China’s Shengzhen Baoan International Airport and Hangzhou International Airport, which were rated No. 2 and No. 3 respectively, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said.
Statistics from the airport company showed that the Taoyuan airport serviced 42.29 million people last year, representing year-on-year growth of 9.94 percent.
The airport is aiming to improve service quality further by expanding the service area of Terminal 2 and building Terminal 3.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
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Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
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