HONG KONG. In welcome news for retailers at Hong Kong International and Taipei Chiang Kai-Shek airports, Cathay Pacific Airways said yesterday it will restore flights to Taipei on a gradual basis.
The announcement follows Taiwan’s decision to lift its quarantine policy on visitors, first imposed to combat the spread of SARS.
The airline said it will operate eight daily flights to Taipei from 1 July. This will increase to 12 daily services from 1 August and go back to the original 103 flights per week from 1 September.
Taiwanese travellers heading for mainland China have to route through Hong Kong or Macau.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Hong Kong free of SARS on Monday. It lifted a month-long travel warning against non-essential travel to Taiwan on 17 June, but has yet to declare the island SARS-free.
