Meanwhile in Amsterdam . . .
Guy
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What is the connection to covid?
Many Airlines found that COVID was a blessing in disguise when the restrictions on Travel started in March 2020 and took that as an excuse to lay off (read āsackā in many countries) as many of their staff as they could, from Pilots right down to Cleaners. Likewise many Airports did the same.
Now they find themselves short of staff (or those sufficiently trained) as the number of people wanting to fly grows and they havent been as quick to employ (and train) staff.
In Australia, Domestic passenger bookings are now higher than before COVID restrictions began, and recent School Holidays revealed the extent of the cutbacks that had not been refilled - the most extreme being insanely long waits to go through Security, and Baggage not making it onto flights - and that same āillnessā is in place in many countries.
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Itās happening in Canada now too.
The only qualifier Iād make to that excellent post is that airlines really really really donāt like laying off or āsackingā competent pilots, as it is very time consuming and difficult to get a new one trained and certified and working.
But for ground crew, including the hapless people (too often not) handling baggage now? Aiyaiyai!
Guy
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What on earth makes you think airlines enjoyed sacking people and throwing years of hard work down the toilet? Governments ordered them to shut down their operations. If your business is shut down, you donāt have income. You therefore canāt pay salaries. So people lose their jobs. The managers who had to tell their staff that the company was essentially defunct due to the whim of politicians probably had a really bad day that day.
The scum who did this have never actually worked an honest day in their lives. And now they seem to be genuinely surprised that you canāt shut down a large, complex enterprise and then magically revive it when you feel like it. If there was any justice in the world the whole lot of them would be hauled out, given a baggage-handlerās uniform, and told to get their manicured hands dirty for a change.
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The baggage handler dilemma, at least in Canada, is more prosaic than this. To do this work in Canada, you need to get security clearance from the federal government. While demand for these workers is sky high now, the feds reportedly will not be capable ( 
) of processing any new applications until September. Thatās part of the reason why the current situation in Canadian airports is in many casesācough Toronto Pearson Airport coughāa complete sh&tshow.
Guy
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Yes, there has been no mention of any Pilot shortage even though they probably have to go through some rigorous Simulator Training to catch up on the lost time.
Likewise, Security and Baggage Handling people would all need a Security Clearance too, and that no doubt drags the time out as well.
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Iāve quickly scanned this forum, but canāt find an answer to my question.
I would be grateful if someone could point me to what is required should I wish to do a quick trip out of the country to Vietnam (for a short holiday), in terms of getting back in to Taiwan. Iām leaving my employer, but think I am likely entitled to an extension to my ARC whilst looking for work?
My understanding is I just have to quarantine at home when I get back (3 days at home, 4 days of self-monitoring?)
Many thanks, in advance.
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If ARC is valid, then yes 3+4.
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I think if you go to immigration, you can apply for a 6 month ARC extension. Iād do that before leaving the country as your ARC is tied to your work permit.
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Many thanks. I would hate to be stuck outside the country whilst paying for the rent on my apartment 
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Thatās the very exact clear answer.
Scroll up on this thread a bit and youāll see mine and maybe others recent experiences returning to taiwan.
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Aer Canada left/lost? bags in Dublin Airport, my cheap airline Ryan, bags were out in 30 min. Lots of bags all over the terminal though.
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Holy hell that gray one is mine!
Itās where I keep all my sensitive area waxing materials.
Donāt open it, unless itās vibrating. Or just wait until the batteries run out.
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OK, itās official: I canāt get back to Taiwan using Japan Airlines as the connections (such as they are) simply donāt work.
Iām looking for alternatives, and one of them involves transiting in Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN) in South Korea. Do any forumosans have recent experience doing so? Are there any possible complications I should be aware of?
Thanks in advance for any and all feedback.
Guy
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Should still be there.
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Yen is 5% higher than few weeks ago, should got some then. I wonder if Japan Yen will get stronger?
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This has been mentioned by @MalcolmReynolds in the Taiwan Developments thread and perhaps posted elsewhere on forumosa, but I think this should be posted here too as itās a significant development for inbound travellers to Taiwan who are not citizens and not A(P)RC holders.
Guy
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Following up on my previous post: I ended up transiting through ICN on my return to Taiwan. There are some restrictions on entering Korea, but no restrictions (as far as I could tell) on transiting in Incheonāitās just the usual case of having your passport and boarding pass for your connecting flight in hand, and the usual security check to get from the arrivals to the departures level.
ICN, as many forumosans may know, is a large open and airy space, with a number of coffee options and fast free wifi. If that were acceptable, I could have spent my quarantine time in that terminal. 
Guy
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