While the airplane was parked at Los Angeles International Airport, the passenger entered the cockpit.
For allowing a passenger inside the cockpit while on the ground at Los Angeles International Airport, Starlux Founder and Chair Chang Kuo-wei is subject to a fine. Kuo-wei, a pilot who is type-rated on every aircraft that Starlux flies, was the flight’s captain.
possible fine
Starlux Airlines, a luxury airline based in Taiwan, launched its first flight from Taipei to Los Angeles last week. Sam Chui, an aviation influencer who was traveling with the group, was welcomed into the Starlux Airbus A350 cockpit upon arrival in Los Angeles and posed for pictures with the captain.Article 194 of the Aircraft Flight Operation Regulations states that
“Only authorized personnel and flight dispatchers of the operator may be admitted into the flight crew compartment of an aircraft.”
In most cases, passenger access to the cockpit of an aircraft is not a concern, but in Starlux’s instance, it was. The authorities investigating into the incident called the airline’s director of flight operations. Kuo-wei might be subject to a punishment of less than $2,000 if authorities determine that he broke the law, while the airline might only receive a warning. A fine of nearly $20,000 may be imposed for a subsequent infraction.
More disarray
Starlux received criticism over the weekend for canceling two flights from Tokyo Narita Airport. After failing to land at Narita twice on May 6, flight JX800 from Taipei to Narita was forced to divert to Nagoya. The airplane finally took off from Nagoya after a few hours on the ground, and it took more than seven hours to arrive at Narita.
In addition to the delayed inbound arrival, the aircraft used for flight JX800 was supposed to return to Taipei as JX801 at 13:55 local time. However, the flight was canceled due to weather conditions. Over 300 people spent the night in the Narita Airport as a result of the cancellation of JX803, Starlux’s second flight from Narita to Taipei. One Mile At A Time claims that JX803 was initially delayed due to a maintenance issue, followed by air traffic control (ATC), which caused the crew to time out and be unable to operate the trip.
Immigration personnel had gone home for the evening, forcing passengers to spend the night in the Narita terminal. Passengers slept on the floor in the sleeping bags that the airline provided. The next day, the chairman of Starlux flew to Narita to personally apologize to the travelers and let them know the airline will reimburse all of their money.
