China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday said that they would add more flights between Taipei and Manila today to help about 1,000 passengers left stranded by flight cancelations due to a volcanic eruption in the Philippines on Sunday.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila suspended flights from Sunday evening to noon yesterday after Taal volcano erupted, spewing lava and ash.
CAL yesterday canceled four flights between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Manila, while EVA canceled six flights on Sunday and yesterday.
The number of affected passengers was estimated to be at least 1,000, the airlines said.
“In addition to the Manila airport’s suspension, we had to cancel our flights, as volcanic ash would endanger our jets. Ash parcels, ejected into the atmosphere by the eruption, could abrade the engines and even lead to their shutdown,” EVA spokesman David Chen (陳耀銘) said by telephone.
The airline has been monitoring the ash particles and would avoid them when resuming the flights to and from Manila, Chen said.
EVA received approval from Taiwanese and Philippine regulators to add two more flights yesterday evening, while it is still waiting for an approval from the Philippine government to add two more flights this morning, Chen said.
CAL would also add two flights this morning for its passengers, it said in a statement.
Separately, CAL’s revenue for last year declined 1.44 percent annually to NT$168.39 billion (US$5.62 billion), while EVA’s revenue edged up 0.76 percent to NT$181.27 billion.
CAL attributed the sluggish passenger numbers to fewer Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan, while its cargo business was affected by weaker demand amid the US-China trade tensions.
EVA said its nearly flattish performance was affected by a flight attendants’ strike in June and July that led to the canceling of 469 round-trip flights and a loss of NT$2.11 billion in revenue.
TAIWAN PROTECTION MEASURE: US Army General Charles Flynn would not say where in the Asia-Pacific the missiles would be sent, but only that they would arrive in 2024 The US is to send medium-range missiles including the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk to the Asia-Pacific next year to deter a Chinese attack on Taiwan, US military news Web site Defense One reported. The report cited comments US Army General Charles Flynn made during the annual Halifax International Security Forum on Nov. 19. “We have tested them and we have a battery or two of them today,” Flynn was quoted as saying. “In [20]24. We intend to deploy that system in your region. I’m not going to say where and when. But I will just say that we will
LOYALTY: The 10 active and retired soldiers betrayed the nation and its people by leaking and passing on military secrets to China, the High Prosecutors’ Office said Ten former and current military officers were yesterday indicted on charges of spying for China, including two who allegedly filmed themselves pledging loyalty to Beijing. The High Prosecutors’ Office requested life imprisonment for the suspects in light of the severity of the crime. The 10 active-duty and retired officers included members of the 601st Brigade of the Aviation Special Forces comprising attack helicopter squadrons and elite combat units in charge of defending northern Taiwan, including Taipei. The other suspects came from Huadong Defense Command, in charge of defending the eastern coast; Kinmen Defense Command, in charge of defending Kinmen and Matsu; and one
NO FREE LUNCH: Taiwanese joining the trips to China met TAO and United Front Work officials who urged them to vote for candidates who support closer ties with Beijing The Ciaotou Prosecutors’ Office in Kaohsiung yesterday released two suspects on bail who have been accused of recruiting Taiwanese to join tours to China funded by Beijing and in which they were urged to vote for pan-blue candidates in January’s presidential and legislative elections. The pan-blue camp generally refers to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the People First Party, the New Party and the Young China Party, which support closer relations with China. Prosecutors said that a man, surnamed Cheng (鄭), and a woman, surnamed Yeh (葉), who are members of the China Pan-Blue Association, recruited Taiwanese tourists to join tours arranged
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday slammed a proposal by New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, to permit a “significant number” of Chinese students to study and work in Taiwan, saying it would be detrimental to young Taiwanese. At an event on Monday hosted by nine major industrial and business groups, Hou said that if elected, he would reinitiate cross-strait dialogue on the premise that Taiwan’s dignity would not be compromised and that the talks would be held in good faith. The talks would include lifting a ban on Chinese tour groups and
RSS