Krathon was expected to hit Kaohsiung on Wednesday morning, then work its way across the centre of Taiwan heading northeast. - Photo: EPA-EFE / Cannix Yau via SCMP
HONG KONG: More than 30 flights between Hong Kong and Taiwan, including ones operated by Cathay Pacific Airways and its budget arm HK Express, have been cancelled as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches the island.
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific said on Tuesday that 17 flights would be cancelled between Tuesday and Thursday. Seven were return flights between the city and Kaohsiung, and three between Hong Kong and Taipei.
Cathay said all affected passengers had been notified and booked on alternative flights.
HK Express said it would cancel 12 flights travelling between Hong Kong and Taichung, Taipei and Kaohsiung on Wednesday and Thursday.
The airline said affected passengers could rebook without additional charge or request a refund for the unused portions of their journey.
Hong Kong Airlines earlier announced the cancellation of at least two flights in anticipation of Krathon, the Taipei-bound HX284 and HX285, which were due to depart on Wednesday.
Several other airline companies have alsoi cancelled or rescheduled flights on Tuesday and later, with Typhoon Krathon forecast to turn towards Taiwan, according to announcements made late Monday.
On Wednesday, all four round-trip flights between Hong Kong and Kaohsiung have also been cancelled, along with flight CX408 from Hong Kong to Taipei (Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport).
Flight CX408 is also cancelled on Thursday, along with CX407 from Taipei to Hong Kong, and flights CX432 and CX424 from Hong Kong to Kaohsiung, as well as CX449, CX431 and CX423 from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong.
Flight CX407 is also cancelled on Friday, according to Cathay Pacific.
Another affected international flight on Tuesday was announced by Taiwan's Starlux Airlines, which said flight IT578 has been rescheduled to depart Da Nang, Vietnam at the earlier time of 7 p.m. and head to Kaohsiung.
Starlux said further changes to its flight schedule are expected over the next few days due to the weather conditions, and the most up to date operational and flight information will be available from staff at each airport.
With Typhoon Krathon's approaching, domestic flights will be more significantly disrupted on Tuesday, after Mandarin Airlines cancelled all flights to and from Hualien and Taitung in eastern Taiwan, while Kaohsiung-Penghu County flights after 1 p.m. and Kaohsiung-Kinmen flights after 3 p.m. have also been cancelled.
Mandarin Airlines also cancelled all Taichung-Penghu flights after 4 p.m. and all domestic flights departing from Taipei Songshan Airport after 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, UNI Air canceled all Taitung flights, and Kaohsiung flights from noon, as well as flights to and from Chiayi and Tainan after 2 p.m.
The carrier also moved the departure time of flight B7-8966 from Kinmen to Taichung to 2:50 p.m., and B7-8640 from Penghu to Taichung to 3:20 p.m.
At 10 p.m. Monday, the center of Typhoon Krathon was located over waters about 170 kilometers south-southwest of Pingtung's Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost tip, according to data from the Central Weather Administration.
The storm was moving in a west-northwesterly direction at 6 kilometers per hour, while taking a north-northwest turn and packing maximum sustained winds of 173 kph, with gusts of up to 209 kph, the data showed.
Super typhoon Krathon is bringing strong winds and heavy rains as it heads toward Taiwan, after drenching parts of northern Philippines.
The eye of the storm was in Batanes, the northern tip of the Philippines, and moving slowly west northwest with maximum winds of 185 kilometers per hour (115 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 230 kph, according to the Philippine weather agency’s 5am bulletin on Tuesday. Krathon is forecast to make landfall along the southwestern coast of Taiwan on Wednesday, the bulletin said.
Schools and offices have been closed in six cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Offices in the capital Taipei remain open, though there are heavy gusts of wind and the city may be more severely affected as the storm heads north.
The impact of Krathon, which is known in the Philippines as Julian, appears to have been much less severe than that of storms seen earlier this year, and there were no immediate indications of casualties in the country. - Agencies
