Taipei: Airlines and ferry operators announced widespread service changes Thursday as Typhoon Bavi approached Taiwan, with authorities urging travelers to monitor updates and avoid nonessential trips to outlying islands. The Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Bavi at 2:30 p.m. Thursday and is expected to issue a land warning early Friday if the typhoon maintained its projected path and speed.
According to Focus Taiwan, Starlux Airlines stated that flights scheduled from Thursday through Sunday could be rescheduled or canceled, urging passengers to check the latest flight information before heading to the airport. Tigerair Taiwan moved up Thursday's IT232 Taoyuan-Naha and IT289 Naha-Kaohsiung flights due to safety concerns, while IT706 and IT707 between Taoyuan and Nagoya were delayed. China Southern Airlines canceled several Taiwan flights, including Friday's CZ3016/CZ3015 Taipei-Wuhan-Taipei and CZ3096/CZ3095 Taipei-Shanghai-Taipei services. For Saturday, the carrier canceled flights on routes such as Taipei-Shenzhen-Taipei and Taipei-Guangzhou-Taipei.
China Airlines moved up Thursday's CI122/CI123 Taoyuan-Okinawa-Taoyuan flights and canceled Friday's CI120/CI121 and CI132/CI133 Taoyuan-Okinawa and Kaohsiung-Okinawa flights. Also canceled were Taoyuan departures to the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia scheduled after 6 p.m. Friday.
The Maritime and Port Bureau announced that ferry services on several domestic routes would be suspended or adjusted because of the storm. On the Keelung-Matsu route, some sailings were canceled Thursday, with all services suspended Friday and Saturday. The Kaohsiung-Penghu route rescheduled Friday sailings to Thursday, with no service on Friday or Sunday. The Budai-Penghu route operated some sailings earlier than scheduled Thursday before suspending all services Friday and Saturday.
Ferry services on routes such as Fugang-Green Island and Chenggong-Green Island would be suspended from Thursday through Saturday. The bureau also stated that Fuao-Langqi sailings between Kinmen, Matsu, and China's Fujian province would be suspended from Thursday through Saturday, while Baisha-Huangqi services would be partially suspended Thursday and fully suspended Friday and Saturday. Kinmen County Harbor Office later announced that all ferry services between Kinmen and Xiamen and Quanzhou would be suspended Friday.
Taiwan Railway Corp. indicated it would sell standing tickets all day Thursday on EMU3000 Tze-chiang limited express trains on the Eastern Trunk Line to assist passengers from Hualien and Taitung heading north ahead of the typhoon. Authorities urged travelers to utilize available sailings to return to Taiwan early and postpone trips to outlying islands to avoid being stranded by subsequent suspensions.