A direct flight service between Taiwan and the Czech Republic is expected to be launched in July, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said on Friday.
The new route would have two regular flights per week between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Vaclav Havel Airport in Prague, Wang told lawmakers during a legislative interpellation session.
Taiwan has already received commercial aviation rights for the route, while the applications for each flight information region are still in progress, Wang said.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications and China Airlines, Taiwan’s main carrier, have mulled the establishment of direct flights between the two countries for more than five years, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) wrote on Facebook.
Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil has been looking forward to the establishment of direct flight services between the two countries, You said, adding that they met during You’s visit to the European nation in July last year.
After returning to Taiwan, You asked authorities to speed up the evaluation on the establishment of direct flights between the two countries, he said.
In September last year, a delegation led by Czech Senator Jiri Drahos visited Taiwan, during which he expressed enthusiasm for direct flights to be established between the two countries.
Although Taiwan and the Czech Republic signed an air services agreement in October 2007, there have been no direct flights between them, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said.
China Airlines said it was optimistic about the new route, and that preparations are under way to launch the direct flight service in July.
The airline would operate two flights per week between the two countries, it said.
A domestically developed “suicide drone,” also known as a loitering munition, would be tested and evaluated in July, and could enter mass production next year, Taiwan’s weapons developer said on Wednesday. The yet-to-be-named drone was among nine drone models unveiled by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on Tuesday. The drone has been dubbed the “Taiwanese switchblade” by Chinese-language media, due to its similarity to the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 300, which has been used by Ukraine in counterattacks during Russia’s invasion. It has a range of more than 10km, a flight time of more than 15 minutes, and an electro-optical
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: Sales at the Rueifong Night Market surged 20 to 30 percent, while seats at Liouhe Night Market were packed until 1am, market officials said South Korean pop band Blackpink’s concerts over the weekend in Kaohsiung helped draw large crowds to local night markets, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. The two concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Kaohsiung National Stadium drew more than 90,000 people. The city government offered NT$50 vouchers to spend locally to concertgoers who showed their ticket stubs. Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市) management committee head Chuang Chi-chang (莊其章) said that crowds over the weekend surged at about 10pm and the market remained packed until 1:30am. “Almost all the seats were filled,” Chuang said. Night market stall owners had stocked up in expectation of an increased number