In response to airstrikes by the US and Israel on Iran at the weekend, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday convened a meeting of the Cabinet and instructed the Ministry of Economic Affairs to activate an energy response task force, while tasking Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) to lead a price stabilization group to prepare for potential challenges, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said.
The Financial Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Finance were instructed to continue observing stock and currency market trends, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) was tasked with ensuring the safety of personnel at Taiwan’s diplomatic missions and assisting overseas Taiwanese, particularly those stranded in the Middle East, Lee said.
The government also raised its travel warnings for several Middle East nations affected by the ongoing conflict.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan via CNA
The travel alerts for Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were raised late on Sunday from yellow to orange — the second-highest level — warning Taiwanese to avoid unnecessary travel to those destinations.
MOFA had already raised the travel alert for Israel and Iran to “red,” the highest level, on Saturday.
MOFA said two Taiwanese who had asked Taiwan’s representative office in Israel for help in leaving the country because their flight was canceled and they were worried for their safety had arrived in Jordan via a government-arranged vehicle.
As of yesterday, no other official requests had been made by Taiwanese nationals in the Middle East seeking government assistance, it said, adding it has made contact with approximately 3,000 Taiwanese in the Middle East and they are all safe.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Administration yesterday said that more than 2,000 Taiwanese tourists had been affected by airspace closures in the Middle East, with 1,208 stranded overseas due to canceled flights.
As of yesterday, the travel plans of 2,059 Taiwanese had been disrupted since Saturday. Aside from those stranded overseas, 851 were forced to cancel tours.
The Tourism Administration said it has asked travel agencies to arrange meals and accommodation for tourists who were not able to return in the short term.
Tourists and travel agencies can request arbitration at the Travel Quality Assurance Administration within a year should they need to settle disputes over refunds for canceled overseas tours, it added.
Some Taiwanese have uploaded videos online about their plight.
A Taiwanese man stranded in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, said that he was told the airport could be closed for one to three days, adding that missile alerts repeatedly appeared on his mobile phone.
Another YouTuber “Sister Apple” (蘋果妹) said she was scheduled to return to Taipei from Lisbon, Portugal, via Abu Dhabi. After three hours, the flight returned to Lisbon.
As the closure of Middle East airspace and subsequent flight cancelations do not constitute a cause attributable to either tourists or travel agencies, travelers canceling their trips under such circumstances should be handled in accordance with Article 14 of the Standardized Contract for Outbound Travel, requiring travel agencies to refund remaining balance to travelers after deducting any administrative fees already paid on behalf of them and the necessary expenses already incurred in performing the contracts, the administration said.
Travelers can also negotiate with the travel agency to postpone the departure date or transfer to another tour, it said.
Meanwhile, Article 20 of the contract states that any additional expenses incurred due to flight cancelations shall be borne by travel agencies and cannot be charged to travelers, while any reduced expenses should be refunded to travelers.
The Emirati Department of Culture and Tourism said hotels should extend guest stays until they can depart from the nation.
“In light of the current circumstances and given that some guests have reached their checkout date, but are unable to travel for reasons beyond their control, you are kindly requested to extend their stay until they are able to depart,” it said, adding it would cover all costs incurred from delayed departures.
Two Emirates flights from Taipei to Dubai and one Etihad Airways flight from Taipei to Abu Dhabi were canceled yesterday, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said.
Cola Tours (可樂旅遊) announced yesterday that all tours leaving for Dubai before the end of this month would be canceled because of the orange travel alert, while Lion Travel (雄獅旅遊) said that all tours leaving for Dubai before Sunday would be canceled.
Additional reporting by CNA
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