Taiwan Retaliates Against Chinese Airlines, Hampering Lunar New Year Travel<br />30, 2018<br />TAIPEI, Taiwan — Tens of thousands of Taiwanese working in China are at risk of being unable to return home for<br />the Lunar New Year in mid-February as a result of an escalating battle over airspace in the Taiwan Strait.<br />The agency said on Jan. 19 that it was denying the airlines permission for the flights because they were flying sensitive new routes in the Taiwan Strait<br />that China began using without consulting Taiwan’s government.<br />The cancellations of the 176 flights serving Lunar New Year traffic will probably force<br />Taiwanese determined to get home to scramble to book scarce flights on short notice.<br />On Tuesday, the Chinese carriers China Eastern Airlines and Xiamen Air announced<br />that they had canceled 176 flights intended to meet added demand during the holiday since they had yet to receive approval from Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration.<br />The new passenger routes come close to airspace used by Taiwanese airliners<br />and military planes at a time when Chinese military drills encroaching on Taiwan’s airspace have become increasingly common.
