Lest you’re unaware, Taiwan’s EVA Airways Corp has been dealing with a spate of ‘indirect’ backlash, following one of its pilots’ lapse in judgement – which ultimately contributed towards Taiwan’s first domestic transmission since 12 April.
Meanwhile, positive thinkers would insist that records are meant to be broken.
But here’s the thing. Though the pilot in question, who has since been fired, is no doubt a piece in the whole blame puzzle, it should be noted that it’s not the first time that EVA Airways Corp has had to adopt tougher measures.
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Taiwan’s Eva Air Has Reportedly Fired 8 Employees for ‘Breaching Anti-pandemic Rules’
Taiwan’s EVA Airways Corp announced on Tuesday (29 December 2020) that it had dismissed four pilots and four cabin crew members since March – for supposedly flouting pandemic-related safety regulations.
Though details were not specified, the company stated that the eight employees were guilty of “breaching anti-pandemic rules”.
“EVA Air always attaches great importance to discipline, and the vast majority of crew members on the front line of duty face transportation and epidemic prevention tasks with a cautious and serious attitude,” it added.
“EVA Air’s position on strictly following epidemic prevention has never changed.”
The revelation comes after last week’s record-breaking case: wherein a New Zealand National, who operated as a pilot for the airline, was blamed for causing Taiwan’s first domestic transmission since 12 April.
The public, in particular, was outraged over his failure to “truthfully declare” his contacts and activities to health authorities – in spite of his realisation that he was infected.
He also neglected his mask while on duty, despite being reminded of the safety protocol.
As a result of the pilot’s negligence, two colleagues, as well as a Taiwanese woman who purportedly had contact with him, tested positive.
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The woman would go on to make contact with 173 people – 170 of whom tested negative. The rest are still pending.
The pilot was subsequently fired from EVA Airways on Wednesday (23 December), and was handed a hefty fine of NT$300,000 (SGD$14,176).
In a statement, the airline expressed that the pilot had flouted pandemic prevention orders, and caused “serious damage to the company’s reputation and image”.
EVA Air was also fined US$35,000 (S$46,500) for the incident.
More Stringent Measures
In light of the cock-up, the government has imposed certain measures – including the rigidifying of rules for airline crew.
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The “pilot quarantine sequence”, which originally took three days after every overseas trip, will be re-evaluated.
Well, guess pilots have a new target to curse at from hereon.
It should be noted that several New Year’s Eve events have also been scaled back or even cancelled.
However, significant celebrations in the nation are still expected to proceed, though necessary measures such as mask-wearing will be further emphasised.
Thus far, Taiwan has recorded 795 confirmed infections – 7 of which were fatal.
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127 people are currently receiving treatment in hospital.
Featured Image: Ryan Fletcher / Shutterstock.com
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