International travelers transiting at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport would from today be allowed to go shopping and dine in the airport’s departure areas, the airport operator said, as the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) eased some border restrictions imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Taoyuan International Airport Corp said reopening borders is a global trend, and since reallowing transit passengers from June 15, the airport has continued to review its procedures to improve services and efficiency.
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC, inspected the airport on July 22, while Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯), the center’s deputy head, inspected it on Wednesday, the operator said, adding that several government agencies on July 27 sent representatives to the airport to discuss transit service improvements.
Photo: Ben Blanchard, Reuters
The operator said the eased curbs would bring more business opportunities to the airport, as transit passengers would no longer be directed to designated waiting rooms where they previously had to remain until boarding their connecting flight.
A time limit between flights of 12 hours would also be lifted, as well as a requirement that connecting flights be on a single ticket, it said.
However, the airline conducting the inbound flight would have to confirm the connection and provide check-through services for transit passengers’ luggage, it added.
The operator said COVID-19 prevention measures would remain in place to protect the safety of passengers and staff, including table dividers and checkerboard seating arrangements in dining areas.
Environmental cleaning and disinfection would be conducted in the airport’s departure and arrival areas, it said, adding that personal protective equipment would be provided to airport workers, for whom a health monitoring plan would be implemented according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s guidelines.
So far, 98.45 percent of airport workers have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine booster dose, and the airport is negotiating with hospitals to provide second doses to eligible staff members, it said.
Taiwan yesterday reported 21,771 new local cases of COVID-19 and 42 deaths from the disease, the CECC said.
The deceased ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s, and all had chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, it said, adding that 19 were unvaccinated against COVID-19.
Four of those who died were in their forties, two of whom had diabetes, one had a mental illness and one had a chronic kidney condition, it added.
Additional reporting by CNA
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday condemned Chinese and Russian authorities for escalating regional tensions, citing Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and joint China-Russia military activities breaching South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) over the past two days. A total of 30 Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday, entering Taiwan’s northern and southwestern airspace in coordination with 15 naval vessels and three high-altitude balloons, the MAC said in a statement. The Chinese military also carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” targeting Taiwan on Thursday evening, the MAC said. On
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the
MILITARY EXERCISES: China is expected to conduct more drills in the region after President William Lai’s office announced he would stopover in Hawaii and Guam China is likely to launch military drills in the coming days near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming trip to the Pacific and scheduled US transit as a pretext, regional security officials said. Lai is to begin a visit to Taipei’s three diplomatic allies in the Pacific on Saturday, and sources told Reuters he was planning stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam in a sensitive trip shortly after the US presidential election. Lai’s office has yet to confirm details of what are officially “stop-overs” in the US, but is expected to do so shortly before he departs, sources
RSS