As Taiwan eases some of world’s oldest quarantine rules, remaining curbs and concerns see airlines lament ‘half step forward’
- From mid-October, Taiwan will implement a seven-day testing regimen with strict isolation guidelines for those who test positive for the coronavirus
- Travellers will be allowed outside during the seven-day period if their Covid tests come back negative every two days, but analysts say testing remains a ‘deterrent to travel’
EVA Airways has long been preparing for the big day, October 13, when the government of its home market Taiwan will drop arrival quarantine rules and let in tens of thousands of additional people from overseas every week.
During the dreary days of 2020, after Taiwan closed its borders to most foreign arrivals, EVA replaced aircraft and kept in contact with aviation authorities to sustain its flight network.
But now the airline that operated nearly 620 flights per week before the pandemic, intends to increase its current 194 weekly flights to just 291 in October, according to a spokesman.
“EVA has to make its recovery gradually while complying with Taiwan’s … policies and border-control regulations,” the spokesman explained.
Civil aviation experts expect many airlines to refrain from restoring flights to pre-pandemic levels until Taiwan follows up on its upcoming end to mandatory quarantines with a full erasure of travel restrictions.
