An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday.
Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed.
Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed.
Photo: CNA
Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and gave them “peace crackers.”
The airline in a statement on its Web site said that all scheduled flights to and from Dubai have been suspended until 11:59pm today (UAE time) due to airspace closures across the region.
“Emirates continues to operate a limited number of passenger repatriation and freighter flights on March 3 and March 4,” it said. “We are accommodating customers with earlier bookings as a priority on these limited flights.”
“Please do not go to the airport unless you have been notified directly by Emirates or hold a confirmed booking for these flights,” the airline said, adding that it would continue to monitor the situation and develop its schedule accordingly.
Travelers are advised to check flight statuses on the Emirates’ Web site, review the latest operational updates on emirates.com, and check their e-mail for notifications about flight changes or cancelations before traveling to the airport.
The Taoyuan airport’s Web site showed that two Etihad Airways’ flights to and from Abu Dhabi yesterday were canceled.
Etihad Airways said that all flights scheduled before 6pm today have been canceled as well.
As of Tuesday, 1,240 Taiwanese traveling in Europe and the Middle East were unable to return as scheduled due to the conflict in the Middle East, including 1,140 scheduled to transit via Dubai, the Tourism Administration said yesterday.
So far, 183 Taiwanese have been reported stranded in Dubai, the agency said
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that most of the Taiwanese stranded in the Middle East were in the UAE, adding that it is aware that airport authorities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have allowed departures of a limited number of flights.
Taiwanese in Oman, Saudi Arabia or Jordan should leave as soon as possible, as the airspace in those countries was open, the ministry said.
As UAE has limited open airspace, business travelers there are advised to leave by boarding Emirates flights when services resume, the ministry said.
Because the border between the UAE and Oman is open and Taiwanese do not need a visa to enter Oman, the Commercial Office of Taipei Office in Dubai can assist Taiwanese who wish to return home on flights departing from Oman instead, the ministry said.
As Israel’s airspace is closed, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv would help Taiwanese travel to Jordan through land services and board flights to Europe or Southeast Asian nations from there, it said.
Taiwanese seeking to leave Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran or Iraq can contact Taiwan’s representative offices in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai or Jordan, it said.
The ministry has put up a special page on its Web site (https://www.mofa.gov.tw/theme.aspx?n=7174&sms=69&s=157) for people seeking updated information on the Middle East.
People seeking further information can contact the Dubai office at +971-506-453-018; the Tel Aviv office at +972-544-275-204; the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Saudi Arabia at +966-114-881-900; the Taipei Trade Office in Bahrain at +973-1729-2578; the Taipei Commercial Representative Office in Kuwait at +965-533-9988; the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Jordan at +962-795-552-605; or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Oman at +968-9944-9875, the page says.
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