Taiwan Suspends Int’l Transit Stops At Airports To Curb Coronavirus Risk

Taiwan will suspend international transit stops at its airports effective March 24 in a move to reduce coronavirus contagion risk,  the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control said today. The suspension is scheduled to last until April 7.

The decision may impact local carriers EVA Airways and China Airlines, which until recently have been able to offer international arrivals a connecting flight to mainland China from Taiwan.  Major U.S. carriers United, Delta and American halted direct flights between the U.S. and the mainland in January, leaving Taiwan as a possible transit alternative.

Earlier this week, Taiwan already added its name to a list of economies barring entry by most foreign nationals in connection with the conoravirus pandemic. Thus far, Taiwan ranks among the world’s lowest number of cases among leading trading economies, with 169. Most new cases involve locals that contracted the virus outside of Taiwan.  Shares in EVA and China Airlines slumped on entry restriction for overseas travelers.  (See related story here.)  EVA is controlled by the family of Taiwan shipping billionaire Chang Yung-fa, who died in 2016; China Airlines is government-controlled.

Taiwan ‘s relatively low number of coronavirus cases has been tied in part to a relatively early ban on visitors from hard-hit mainland China, and the mainland’s own measures to limit tourist travel to Taiwan last year.

–Follow me @rflannerychina