Former EVA Airways Corp chairman Chang Kuo-wei’s (張國煒) plan to found a new airline might be realized before the end of this year, as the Ministry of Transportation and Communications is scheduled to review an amendment to the Regulations of Civil Air Transport Enterprise (民用航空運輸業管理規則) at the end of this month that would relax the requirements to become a civil aviation carrier.
Chang, one of the sons of late EVA Air founder Chang Jung-fa (張榮發), left the family business because of the disputes with his siblings last year and announced that he would form a new carrier called Starlux Airlines (星宇航空).
However, the current regulations have a list of criteria that Chang has to meet to start a new airline, some of which he said were strict and unreasonable.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Lawmakers asked the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to review the regulations in light of Chang’s comments.
The CAA said that it had decided to relax some of the criteria following extensive discussions on the issues, adding that it had submitted the amendment to the ministry for approval.
However, the ministry rejected the amendments on the ground that the administration should not only change the criteria in the stated regulations, but also adjust the rules that might be affected by the change of criteria.
However, CAA Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said that the ministry’s request would not delay the relaxation of the regulations.
“The ministry simply wanted us to review other regulations that might be affected by the changes,” Lin said, adding that the ministry wanted the agency to complete the task by the end of this month so that it could start reviewing the proposed amendments.
The draft amendment stipulates that if a civil aviation carrier is to be established, it must be able to prove that it has funding of at least NT$6 billion (US$199.1 million), Lin said.
The airline must also have five management teams in charge of flight operations, aircraft maintenance, aviation safety, fleet management and service quality control, he said.
The proposed amendment also stipulates that at least three people in the management teams should have experience as an associate manager or a higher position in a civil aviation company, he said.
Meanwhile, a new airline must have at least three aircraft before launching its business, he added.
The current regulations state that a corporation must be in operation at least five years and have generated an annual revenue of NT$6 billion in the past three years for it to be qualified to apply to establish a new airline.
If the new airline offers international flights, the company must also have engaged in an international trade or transport business for five years.
These qualification criteria for new carriers would be removed in the proposed amendment, Lin said, adding that the administration would only ask if the corporation has the financial and professional capacity to run an airline.
In light of the disputes caused when TransAsia Airways ceased its business last year, Lin said that a proposed amendment to the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法) stipulates that an airline must apply to cease its business two months in advance.
Not only would a company face a fine of between NT$600,000 and NT$3 million for failing to file an application in advance, the person in charge of the company’s operations would also face a fine of NT$10 million and could be sentenced to up to 0one year in prison, Lin said.
“Even if a certain corporation has met all the qualification criteria in the proposed amendment to apply for the permission to open a new airline, the new airline would still have to undergo a five-stage review and tests by the CAA before it would be permitted to operate,” Lin said.
Ministry of Transportation and Communications Department of Navigation and Aviation Director-General Chen Chin-sheng (陳進生) said that the ministry would give the public two months to comment on the amendments after the ministry approves it.
If there is no major controversy, it could take effect either at the end of November or the beginning of December, Chen said.
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