TAIWAN: TransAsia Airways To Close Down

Board members of TransAsia Airways reached a decision to dissolve the company and to halt all its flights.

The decision will be discussed in a shareholder’s meeting and implemented after its approval. The carrier said it couldn’t bring its business back to previous level after the two plane crashes despite the staff’s hard work and the company’s reform measures.

As its financial woes deepened due to sluggish regional industry trend, it had run up losses of more than NT$2.2 bn in the first three quarters of 2016 and did not see optimistic prospects. After a long time consideration and several discussions, its board of directors decided to dissolve the company.

Chairman Vincent Lin said, “It was a painful decision to dissolve the company. We kept trying to find domestic and international professional bodies, partners, or even a new operational team to help TransAsia. It’s a pity that the hope was not fulfilled.”

“We choose to dissolve the airline at this point of time because the company still has more asset than liability, so we’re capable of providing necessary protection to the interests of passengers, employees and partners,” said Lin. “Before exiting Taiwan’s civil aviation industry, the 65-year-old airline will do everything we could to shoulder our last responsibilities.”