MERS outbreak impacts travel: China Airlines to suspend flights between Kaohsiung and Seoul after mid-June

Reported by You Tzu-ju / Taipei

As the MERS outbreak in South Korea continues to worsen, Taiwanese airlines including China Airlines, EVA Air, and TransAsia Airways have begun relaxing ticket refund policies for flights to South Korea. Passengers who have purchased tickets for flights from Taiwan to South Korea can now receive a full refund without any penalty if they do so before June 12. China Airlines announced today (8th) that flights between Kaohsiung and Seoul will be suspended until the end of July, with other routes also seeing reduced frequencies.


▲ Illustration of China Airlines and EVA Air planes. (Photo / Reporter Huang Kehsiang)

China Airlines stated that, in light of the MERS outbreak, passengers who booked tickets for its South Korea routes (including Seoul and Busan) before June 5 can receive a full refund without any penalty if they do so before June 12. Currently, about 15% of bookings are affected, prompting the airline to adjust its flight schedules accordingly. After mid-June, the originally weekly seven flights between Kaohsiung and Seoul will be suspended until the end of July.

The frequency of flights between Taichung and Seoul Incheon will be reduced from seven to four per week; flights between Taoyuan and Seoul Incheon will see flexible adjustments in aircraft types; flights between Taoyuan and Busan will be reduced from 14 to 10 per week; and flights between Songshan and Seoul Gimpo will be cut from three to two per week. The total number of weekly flights to South Korea will be reduced from 42 to 27, a decrease of 15 flights.