In response to competition in the civil aviation industry, the Ministry of the Interior increases the scholarships for aviation personnel of the Air Service Corps

The Beech-200 fixed-wing aircraft of the Air Service Corps can perform tasks such as aerial photography, agricultural disaster investigation, Taiwan basic map repair and testing, and aerial reconnaissance.

In response to the impact of private airlines recruiting talents with high salaries, the Ministry of the Interior said today that the Executive Yuan has officially approved the amendment to the "Subsidy Schedule for Recruitment and Retention of Air Service Corps Flight Personnel". The scholarships for co-pilots, principal pilots and flight instructors will be increased from the current NT$40,000 per month. It will be automatically raised to NT$60,000, NT$80,000, and NT$100,000, with increases of 50%, 100%, and 150% respectively. Pending approval by the Executive Yuan, it will be retroactive to March 1, 2015. Annual funding of NT$100.32 million is required to stabilize the professional manpower of the Air Service Corps and strengthen the talent retention mechanism.

Minister of the Interior Liu Shifang said that the Air Service Corps has long faced salary competition in the civil aviation market. To train a pilot with captain qualifications, the country must invest more than 100 million yuan in training costs. The loss of professional talents not only affects the results of talent cultivation, but also affects the capacity of major disaster response and air rescue. This moderate increase in scholarships is expected to strengthen incentives for retaining talents, stabilize aviation manpower, maintain aviation safety, and ensure the smooth execution of various rescue missions.

The Ministry of the Interior explained that the Air Service Corps is the country's only public aviation agency and is responsible for the five major missions of air disaster relief, rescue, rescue, observation and reconnaissance, and transportation. Flight personnel must be on call 24 hours a day and are often on duty in high-risk environments such as severe weather, mountains, sea areas, and forest fires. Since its establishment in 1993, it has carried out more than 121,651 sorties and flown for more than 159,617 hours. In the past five years, it has set an outstanding record of "zero accidents in five major missions".

The Ministry of the Interior pointed out that in order to strengthen the capacity of air rescue, the Air Service Corps has continued to improve professional training such as night vision goggle operation, simulators, survival and space disorientation in recent years, and combined with the resources of the National Army Aviation Physiological Training Center to improve the adaptability of flight personnel and flight safety management effectiveness, take into account rescue efficiency and duty safety, and protect people's lives and property.