Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) is trying to help domestic travelers reach their destination as TransAsia Airways begins a pilot retraining program.
TransAsia Airways is retraining and recertifying all of its ATR-72 pilots following a deadly crash in Taipei last week. The program has resulted in 30 cancelled flights on Monday alone. Another 32 flights originally scheduled for Tuesday have also been canceled.
The cancellations come just over a week before the Lunar New Year holiday, the year’s peak travel season. Many of the ATR-72 pilots being retrained also fly the larger A320 and A321. Their grounding during the busiest season of the year will further limit the number of seats available.
In response, the CAA has asked that other airlines increase the number of flights they offer over the holiday. The CAA also says that C-130 military transport planes are on standby, and could help transport civilian passengers should the need arise.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Railways Administration may increase the number of trains running down Taiwan’s eastern coast, in part to make up for cancelled TransAsia flights. The administration will make a final decision after reviewing the number of ticket reservations.