Pacific Magazine > Daily News
Taiwan Airline Suspends Palau Flights
By David Miho in Koror
Friday: May 16, 2008
Financially troubled Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) abruptly suspended all flights to Palau on Wednesday threatening the economy of the tourism-dependent nation. The airline filed bankruptcy in Taiwan on Monday and sent flights on Tuesday to fly stranded passengers back to Taiwan. Flights formally stopped on Wednesday.
FAT has been the major source of tourists to Palau, carrying about 60 percent of total visitors annually. It operated four flights per week with over 100 passengers per flight or about 36,000 passengers per year. Palau's secondary markets are Japan, Korea then the United States and Europe.
Some local hotels and marine tour operators in Palau are totally dependent upon Taiwanese tourists, and the suspension of the airline service has flagged chilling negative forecasts within the tourism industry.
Palau's Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Koskilen says "At the Chamber we are gravely concerned... the economic impact will be felt immediately and it would seem for some duration. This impact is worsened by the nature and structure of this particular relationship; that is charter flights fed by a single agency."
Far Eastern Air Transport is a Taiwan based airline. While it has suffered financial problems over the past year, Taiwan Ambassador Matthew Lee is optimistic and says that the disruption of service from Taiwan would be temporary because the Taiwan government recognizes the essential role of tourism in the relationship between Taiwan and Palau.
"With the new Taiwan president we hope we can reopen the route," says Lee.
President Tommy Remengesau Jr. is in Israel on an official visit and was scheduled to then attend the inauguration of Taiwan's new President Ying-jeou Ma this week. The crisis created by the suspension of air service from Taiwan is now the focus of his visit with Taiwan's president and Ambassador Lee expressed confidence that another airline, perhaps China Airlines, would soon resume service, "as early as end of May."
