The Civil Aviation Administration restricts chartered flights; TransAsia Airways: Unreasonable flight cuts disregard livelihoods of 700 employees

▲ Regarding the penalty from the Civil Aviation Administration, TransAsia Airways said it disregards the livelihoods of 700 employees. (Photo/Screen capture from TransAsia Airways Facebook)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

The Ministry of Transportation recently approved the Civil Aviation Administration’s penalty against TransAsia Airways. Due to TransAsia’s failure to improve its insufficient provision of operating reserve funds, starting as early as March, the airline will be limited to just eight international charter flights per month. In response to this decision, TransAsia Airways issued a statement expressing that the current formula for calculating operating reserve funds is unreasonable. The airline has repeatedly and earnestly appealed to the regulatory authorities, but their appeals have not yet been accepted. TransAsia Airways stated that it will continue to explain its position to the authorities in the future.

TransAsia Airways emphasized that under the current team management, operations have stabilized. The company is not only profitable but has also hired additional staff and raised salaries for frontline employees. In these challenging economic times, it serves as a model for domestic enterprises.The company also has sufficient funds available for provisioning, but as it is still undergoing restructuring, some creditor banks have filed appeals. If the company were to allocate a large sum of operating funds to its bank account as per the formula, there is a risk that creditor banks could place a lien on those funds, which would be detrimental to the company’s operations..

TransAsia Airways further stated that the operating reserve fund formula is unreasonable. If calculated according to this formula, all domestic airlines would need to set aside huge sums of money, and it is feared that no airline could meet such a standard. The airline also raised the question:“Which operating company would leave such a huge amount of money idle in the bank instead of using it for the stable operation of the business?”” question.

TransAsia Airways pointed out that its operations have stabilized. The airline not only provides services to passengers traveling to offshore islands and across the Taiwan Strait but also supports the families of over 700 employees. Limiting the airline’s international flights by the regulatory authorities affects its revenue, resulting in a monthly shortfall of NT$30–40 million. TransAsia is a company that operates earnestly.The Civil Aviation Administration punishing TransAsia in this way is unfair to those who work diligently.Moreover, regulatory authorities should encourage the development of the aviation industry, provide more support to conscientious companies, and focus on guidance rather than punishment.