China Airlines and the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union have reached a deal which will see an end to the first strike by flight attendants in Taiwan’s history.
The end of the strike comes after China Airlines announced it would drop an unpopular policy requiring flight attendants departing from the Taipei area to report for work at Taoyuan Airport rather than Songshan Airport closer to Taipei’s city center. After negotiations Friday night, the airline also reached a consensus with the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union on overtime, holiday guarantees, and subsidies for flight attendants assigned to work overseas.
56 flights departing from Taipei’s Taoyuan and Songshan airports were listed as canceled Saturday, affecting more than 10,000 passengers. But on Saturday morning, China Airline’s new chairman, Ho Nuan-hsuan, said that the airline would try to ensure that at least 70% of flights scheduled for Saturday afternoon depart.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration has asked the airline to speed up efforts to resume services. Striking flight attendants plan to return to work on Monday, but China Airlines says that most flights scheduled to depart after 5:00pm on Saturday will operate normally.