Radio Taiwan International
Date: 13 December, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

The head of Far Eastern Air Transport says the airline will restart operations.[/caption] Some 500 travelers have been left stranded abroad after the apparent collapse of Taiwanese airline Far Eastern Air Transport. However, on Friday, the airline’s boss appeared in public to announce that reports of the airline’s closure were the result of a misunderstanding. He said the airline has new investors and could return to the skies within hours.

What happened at Far Eastern Air Transport? An airline that had just begun Christmas travel promotions suddenly announced Thursday that it would stop operations the next day due to financial woes. 500 passengers found themselves stranded abroad, and other airlines scheduled last-minute extra flights to help stranded domestic travelers.

There was talk of more than 1000 airline staff losing their jobs overnight.

Officials said the company had broken the law for not giving adequate notice before shutting down. They threatened fines. And they threatened legal consequences for airline boss Chang Kang-wei.
[FULL  STORY]