The legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday passed a motion asking the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to consider the feasibility of using helicopters to transport residents of small islands in Lienchiang County directly to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport).
The motion was proposed by Democratic Progressive Party legislators Hung Sung-han (洪申翰), Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) and Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) as the committee reviewed the budget plan of the civil aviation agency for the next fiscal year.
The agency was asked to complete the study within three months.
Photo: Gan Chih-chi, Taipei Times
Residents of Dongyin (東引), Siju (西莒) and Dongju (東莒) islands headed to Taipei must first take ferries to Nangan (南竿) or Beigan (北竿) islands — Lienchiang County’s two largest islands — then board flights to Songshan from the airports there.
If ferry services are suspended due to weather conditions, residents traveling from the three small islands have to take a helicopter to Nangan.
No more than three helicopter flights can be offered among the four islands each day.
A fourth helicopter flight can only be dispatched with special permission from the county’s Department of Transportation and Tourism.
At least four of the helicopter’s passengers must be registered residents of Lienchiang County, and the flight must be postponed if there are not enough passengers.
A one-way helicopter flight to Dongyin costs NT$1,200 for registered residents and NT$3,000 for non-registered residents, while a one-way flight to Siju or Dongju costs NT$800 for registered residents and NT$2,000 for non-registered residents.
Due to the inconvenience that residents of the three smaller islands experience when traveling, the legislators proposed a motion for the CAA to evaluate the feasibility of offering them direct helicopter flights to Songshan.
The agency should consult the Tourism Bureau about demand for helicopter flights, and try to provide the transportation option for residents and tourists, the legislators said.
CAA Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said that traveling by helicopter is not an ideal mode of transportation.
“Helicopters are slow, and a one-hour flight could cost as much as US$10,000,” he said.
“Each helicopter flight carries about eight people, and the cost that each person has to share is quite high,” Lin added.
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