Shares of the nation’s two leading airlines plunged yesterday as investors worried that the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 would prompt more countries to tighten border controls, curbing the already sluggish recovery of international travel.
The US, Canada, the UK and the EU have announced bans on flights from southern Africa, where the Omicron variant was first detected, while several Asia-Pacific countries, such as the Philippines, Australia, Japan and Singapore, have also tightened their border controls.
Shares of EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) fell 8.12 percent to NT$23.75 and China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) declined 7.3 percent to NT$24.75, compared with a dip of 0.24 percent in the broader market, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed.
Photo courtesy of China Airlines Ltd
Their shares were also the most actively traded among stocks listed on the TWSE yesterday, with 717 million CAL shares being traded for a total turnover of NT$17.9 billion (US$643.7 million) and 301 million EVA shares being traded with a turnover of NT$20 billion, exchange data showed.
Prior to the advent of the Omicron variant, EVA Airways had said it would add new services to Milan, Italy; Munich, Germany; and Clark, the Philippines, next year, but the company has yet to finalize the launch dates of the new services.
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) has announced that it would add new direct flights from Taiwan to Fukuoka, Japan, from February next year, but whether the service would start as scheduled remains unknown, as the Japanese government yesterday banned all foreign tourists from entering the country.
Separately, CAL received an Airbus SE A321neo jet, which would also carry cargo and help raise the airline’s cargo capacity by at least 10 percent.
The plane would be used in routes in Northeast and Southeast Asia, and between Taiwan and China, CAL said.
CAL would take delivery of another A321neo jet by the end of this year, and 10 more by the end of next year, it said.
Overall, the airline would take delivery of 25 A321neo aircraft — 14 leased and 11 purchased — in coming years, it added.
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