Intense Chinese military exercises taking place around Taiwan have disrupted dozens of civilian flights in and out of the island country.
The authority of Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) in northern Taiwan announced the cancellation of more than 50 flights on August 4, 2022.
The Vietnamese airline Vietjet said it reorganized several routes towards northeast Asia between August 4 and 7, 2022, to avoid the area of the exercises, following a demand from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).
Two Korean air carriers, namely Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, also canceled their direct flights from South Korea to Taiwan on August 5 and 6, 2022.
Following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei, Taiwan, on August 2, 2022, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command said it would hold military drills all around Taiwan between August 4 and 7, 2022.
Areas around Taiwan where the exercises (Credit: People’s Liberation Army)
On August 2, 2022, Xiamen Airlines, based in China’s Fujian region opposite Taiwan, announced that more than 50 flights would be disrupted because of air traffic control. The same day, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense reported that 21 Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).