Penghu County Government scheduled staggered flight resumptions for Saturday as Storm Champi moved away, while travelers remained in airport queues after weather-related suspensions disrupted links to Taiwan’s outlying islands.
The Central Weather Administration said Champi was moving away. Penghu’s transport bulletin listed route-by-route flight windows from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. ET Saturday (1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Taiwan time). Penghu Airport said standby numbers issued Saturday would carry over to Sunday because of the queue.
TVBS, citing Kinmen Airport, reported that 1,099 passengers had registered for standby seats as of 10:30 p.m. ET Friday (10:30 a.m. Saturday in Taiwan). The outlet also reported that extra flights had been arranged. In an Oct. 22 update, Penghu County Government estimated about 2,300 travelers were stranded after air and sea services stopped. It said 13 flights brought 910 people back to Taiwan’s main island that morning, including 270 standby passengers.
The Maritime and Port Bureau listed one added sailing from Kaohsiung to Penghu at 8 p.m. ET Friday (8 a.m. Saturday in Taiwan), as well as available seats on later trips, including a Penghu-to-Kaohsiung sailing at 1 a.m. ET Saturday (1 p.m. Taiwan time). The county cited weather and safety conditions for the service suspensions.
Taoyuan International Airport Corp. recorded 523 passenger-flight and 40 cargo-flight cancellations on Friday in Taiwan, and projected 607 total takeoffs and landings for Saturday. Focus Taiwan, citing the airport company, reported 261 additional cancellations as of 10:15 p.m. ET Friday (10:15 a.m. Saturday in Taiwan).
The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) counted 977 canceled flights nationwide through 10 a.m. Friday in Taiwan (10 p.m. ET Thursday). The total included 262 domestic flights and 715 international or cross-strait services. EconoTimes previously covered the earlier Champi-related flight disruptions.
Focus Taiwan also reported diversions at Taipei Songshan Airport and said an Air China flight returned toward China before landing in Xiamen. Taoyuan International Airport Corp. urged passengers to confirm itineraries with their airlines and allow extra time for the trip to the terminal.
