The government on Wednesday raised its travel warning for the India-Pakistan border to the highest level, advising Taiwanese to leave the area as soon as possible in light of an escalating conflict between the two nations.
The “red” travel alert was issued one year after the Bureau of Consular Affairs issued a “yellow” alert for India, warning people to exercise caution and reconsider travel plans.
It also cautioned Taiwanese already in India to stay alert and avoid lingering in busy public spaces.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The “yellow” alert remains in place for India, while the warning for the India-Pakistan border has been raised to “red,” given that the ongoing conflict between the two nations shows no signs of easing anytime soon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
In case of emergency, Taiwanese in India can call the Taiwan representative office in New Delhi on its emergency hotline 91-9810-642-658, its branch office in Chennai on 91-96000-99511 or its Mumbai office on 91-8850842243.
The families of Taiwanese in India can contact the ministry by calling its toll-free phone number 0800-085-095 to seek urgent assistance for their relatives, the ministry said.
In related news, 13 flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have been canceled or delayed due to the ongoing conflict, airport data showed.
As of yesterday, three flights had been canceled and 10 delayed.
The airport said the flight paths for aircraft traveling from Taiwan to Europe had been adjusted, but the flights were all currently on time.
EVA Airways yesterday said that Pakistan’s decision to close its airspace for 48 hours only affected one of its flights that was scheduled to fly from Vienna to Taipei via Bangkok.
The flight was not informed that the airspace in Pakistan was closed for two days until it approached the South Asian nation, EVA president Clay Sun (孫嘉明) told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference about the EVA Air Marathon in Taipei.
“The captain decided to return the flight to Vienna to get gas after briefing the company about the situation,” Sun said, adding that other flights to and from Europe continued normal operations.
“For now, we will continue dispatching flights to Europe by moving the flight route southward, which would increase the flight time by about 20 to 30 minutes,” he said.
China Airlines on Wednesday issued some guidelines for its passengers and those booked with the subsidiary Mandarin Airlines who might have been affected by cancelations and delays.
Passengers holding tickets for China Airlines flights between Taiwan and Europe can change their flights once free of cost if they were booked to travel after Tuesday on flights that have now been canceled or delayed for more than two hours, the airline said.
The changes apply only in cases where the passenger does not change the route or the flight class, it said, adding that the handling and service fees for those flights would be also be waived.
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
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