Taiwan Star Airlines opened its first intercontinental flight in April, a flight from Taiwan to Los Angeles, and let an airline "net celebrity" enter the cockpit on its maiden flight. Taiwan's civil aviation authority said on June 9 that it had fined each of the four pilots involved such as Zhang Guowei, chairman of Star Airlines, NT$60,000 (about 14,000 yuan) and warned Star Airlines.
According to Taiwan media reports, Star Airlines made its maiden flight to Los Angeles on April 26, and Zhang Guowei, chairman of Star Airlines, who was the captain of the maiden flight at the time, let SamChui, a non-aviation personnel and an Internet celebrity with millions of fans, into the cockpit, and Sam even posted photos of the two and other pilots on the Internet.
It is understood that the Internet celebrity Sam Chui was invited by Star Airlines to take the first flight to Los Angeles, because he sat in the first class, quite close to the cockpit, someone witnessed him entering when the cabin door of the aircraft was closed, although it had not yet taken off, but the pilot had begun to be on duty, he was not a flight on duty, if he entered the cockpit without application approval, it was a violation of the relevant regulations of Taiwan's civil aviation.
According to Taiwan's "Aircraft Management Rules", non-operators must obtain the consent of the competent authority to enter the cockpit during flight time, but Taiwan's "Civil Aviation Administration" did not receive the application, and the agency intervened in the investigation afterwards.
Taiwan's "Civil Aviation Administration" said on June 9 that it had completed its investigation and determined that Zhang Guowei and other four pilots (pilots) would each be fined 60,000 yuan, and Star Airlines warned that if it committed another offense within two years, it would be directly fined NT$600,000.
Taiwan's "Civil Aviation Administration" said that in response to Star Airlines' illegal letting passengers into the cockpit to take pictures, after completing the investigation, the bureau has imposed a fine of 60,000 yuan on four pilots surnamed Captain Zhang and other pilots in accordance with the "Aircraft Flight Operation Management Rules", and Star Airlines gave a warning.
Taiwan's "Civil Aviation Administration" pointed out that if Star Airlines commits another offense within two years, it will be directly fined 600,000 yuan.
Taiwan's "Civil Aviation Administration" issued a statement of opinion on June 9, and relevant parties can make a statement to the agency if they have objections.
As for Star Airlines' flight delay at Narita Airport on May 6, more than 300 passengers were stranded at the airport overnight, which further affected the cancellation of flights to Los Angeles. Taiwan's "Civil Aviation Administration" pointed out that Star Airlines has put forward an improvement plan for the protection of passengers' rights and interests when cancelled or delayed by aircraft, and the bureau will continue to supervise the implementation.
In this regard, Star Aerospace said that it accepted the investigation results and would carry out follow-up processing after receiving the statement of opinion.
It is also understood that the Internet celebrity entered the cockpit of a Nepal Airlines flight last year, causing the captain at the time to be grounded.
In November 2022, Nepal Airlines veteran captain Vijay Lama was banned from flying after being interviewed in the cockpit by influencer airline blogger SamChui.
A complaint against captain Vijay Rama alleges that he was involved in filming videos and giving interviews during a flight from Dubai to Kathmandu without permission from Nepal's Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Subsequently, the Nepal Aviation Safety Department lodged a complaint with the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said Nepal Airlines had banned the captain from flying and was under investigation in accordance with instructions from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. In accordance with Nepal Airlines safety regulations, unauthorized persons are not allowed to enter the cockpit for video interviews, flight crew or cabin crew are not allowed to use any portable or stationary equipment for photographic or videographic purposes, subject to permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.