Air traffic is gradually being restored in the airspace around Taiwan, Taiwan’s Ministry of Transport and Communications said Monday, despite China later announcing new military exercises in the area.
Beijing last week deployed a large number of warplanes and launched missile launches near the island as part of military exercises prompted by a visit to Taipei by Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives.
The drills have led some airlines to cancel flights to Taipei and reroute flights between Southeast and Northeast Asia to avoid the region affected by escalating tensions between China and Taiwan. .
Beijing has issued special notices to aircrews (NOTAMs) temporarily declaring certain areas dangerous for flight operations so that civil aviation aircraft can avoid them during Chinese exercises. These areas are located around Taiwan. The final NOTAM covered a sector of airspace east of Taiwan, while its validity expired yesterday at 05:00 Greek time without being renewed.
China’s armed forces announced new military exercises in sea areas and in the airspace around Taiwan yesterday, without specifying the exact area of the drills, and no new NOTAMs were issued.
Earlier, Taiwan’s transport ministry said most scheduled flights to and from the island continued to operate during Chinese military exercises that began on Aug. 4, covering about 150 flight departures and arrivals daily.
The number of flights passing through the airspace of the region and managed by the local air traffic authorities is gradually normalizing after the lifting of the last NOTAM, according to the same ministry in a post on its website.
Some foreign airlines that normally use the airspace preferred to fly from alternative flight paths, middle areas of airspace managed by Japan and the Philippines, during the time of the military exercises, as the same ministry announced last week.
Korean Air Lines Co Ltd canceled its flights to Taipei on Friday and Saturday, while rerouting other flights to avoid the area of tension. Yesterday it announced that it had proceeded to restore its flight schedule.
Philippine Airlines has announced that it will return to operating flights to and from Taipei after using alternate flight routes during the last four days of military exercises.
The two airlines said they have not made any changes to their flight schedules since China’s latest announcement.
“However, we are prepared to proceed with adjustments to our flights to Taipei if necessary,” said Stanley Enji, president of Philippine Airlines, in a statement.
Japan’s ANA Holdings Inc said it is running its flight schedule as normal despite China’s new announcement because no new NOTAM has been issued.
SOURCE: AMPE
Source: Capital
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
