Apex Flight Academy yesterday announced that it is branching out into the general aviation service market, adding that its airline is scheduled to begin operations next year after completing the required certification review.
The nation’s first and only flight training school in March secured the Civil Aeronautics Administration’s (CAA) approval to establish an office in preparation for the launch of Apex Aviation, a new airline offering domestic flights.
Since March, the company has been undergoing a five-stage certification review as per the Regulations of Civil Air Transport Enterprise (民用航空運輸業管理規則), it said.
Photo courtesy of Hualien County Government
The company’s first aircraft, a Tecnam P2012 Traveller, also landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday.
“With the arrival of our first aircraft, we are about to enter stage four of the review. We expect to complete the review by the beginning of next year and start the business afterward,” Apex said.
The twin-engine utility aircraft, which is designed and manufactured by Italian firm Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam, passed safety certifications by the US Federal Aviation Administration and the EU Aviation Safety Agency, the company said.
The cost of building a Tecnam P2012 Traveller is more than NT$110 million (US$3.96 million), it said, adding that Apex Aviation is the first Asian buyer of the aircraft.
The aircraft would initially be used to offer air tours of the East-Rift Valley spanning Hualien to Taitung counties, the coastline along the East Coast, and Green Island and Orchid Island, the company said.
“We hope that the air tours we provide will not only help boost the growth of the local tourism industry, but help market the scenic attractions to the world and draw more tourists from overseas,” Apex Flight Academy chairman Wilson Kao (高健祐) said.
In other news, the CAA recorded 13 breaches of civil aviation regulations committed by drone operators and eight by paramotor users from January to last month.
Of the 13 cases involving drones, four did not file applications in advance and were fined NT$1.64 million in total, CAA Deputy Director-General Clark Lin (林俊良) said.
Drone operators in the other nine cases were granted permission to fly their craft, but were fined for various reasons, from failing to follow the preapproved flight plans to flying drones without notifying air traffic controllers and airport terminals ahead of time, Lin said.
Of the eight cases involving paramotors, one is being handled by the Ministry of National Defense for trespassing in a military zone in September and breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), he said.
In the middle of last month, a policeman was found to have illegally paraglided around a high-voltage tower in Taichung, Lin added.
People contravening the drone regulations can be fined between NT$10,000 and NT$1.5 million, while illegal paragliders can be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000, Lin said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS