TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Starlux Airlines Chair Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) and three other pilots will be fined NT$60,000 ($1,950) each for allowing an influencer into the cockpit during the company’s inaugural flight to Los Angeles, reports said Friday (June 9).
Chinese-Australian influencer Sam Chui posted a picture on his Instagram showing him inside the cockpit of a Starlux jet with Chang, who piloted the April 26 flight himself. Chui, who had been invited to sit in first class, will reportedly not be fined.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) concluded Friday that each member of the four-pilot crew should be fined NT$60,000. If a similar incident occurs again within two years, Starlux will have to pay NT$600,000, the Liberty Times reported.
Chui’s presence in the cockpit was a violation of official rules because the airline had not applied beforehand, the CAA said. Despite media reports, Starlux claimed on Friday that it had not yet received the official notice of the CAA’s decision.