The nation's airlines yesterday began canceling flights around the country, with two carriers grounding all domestic flights from midday today as Typhoon Sinlaku closed in on the northeast of the island.
All domestic flights for Far Eastern Air Transport (遠航) and TransAsia (復興航空) will be grounded from midday today due to the typhoon.
But UNI Air (立榮航空) and Mandarin Airlines (華信航空) decided against a blanket cancelation of flights yesterday until they had a chance to evaluate weather conditions this morning.
Mandarin canceled flights yesterday between Taipei and Kaohsiung and Taipei and Taichung, while UNI grounded services between Taipei and southern destinations such as Kaohsiung, Taitung and the outlying island of Matsu.
Most airlines, including major carriers such as Singapore Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Asia Airways, took a wait-and-see approach on international services, delaying a decision until today.
But Mandarin's morning flight to Chiang Mai today was axed, as was Far Eastern's morning service to Subic Bay in the Philippines.
Most airlines began halting flights between Taipei and central and southern cities such as Tainan, Taichung and Taitung at around 2pm yesterday, while flights between the capital and Kaohsiung were mostly suspended after 10pm.
Flights from Taipei to east coast cities such as Hualien and Taitung and the outlying islands of Kinmen and Penghu were also canceled by airlines yesterday.
Winds at the fringe of the storm were blowing at around 160km per hour yesterday evening as it swept toward Taiwan, well in excess of maximum take-off and landing speeds for one of the aviation world's largest carriers, the Boeing 747-400.
* According to a Taipei-based pilot, a 747 should not take off or land if winds across the runway are blowing in excess of 46kph.
* Winds at the fringe of Typhoon Sinlaku storm were blowing at around 160km per hour yesterday.
* Maximum landing and take-off wind speeds decrease significantly for smaller aircraft used on short-haul domestic routes.
According to an anonymous Taipei-based pilot, the 747 should not attempt landing or taking off if winds across the runway are blowing in excess of 25 to 30 knots per hour, or 46kph to 56kph.
Maximum landing and take-off wind speeds decrease significantly for smaller aircraft used on short-haul domestic routes, said the pilot, who added that a pilot's workload during take-off and landing in a typhoon was "at least doubled."
Rough seas also sunk the travel plans of those booked on a three-day vacation aboard a Star Cruise liner scheduled to sail from Keelung around the Japanese Ishigaki Islands. Travelers booked on the cruise were informed yesterday that the trip had been canceled due to the typhoon.
All road and railway services were reported to be operating normally as of press time yesterday evening.
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