tya

This is not BR-specific, but Taiwanese netizens have found out NOTAM issued by the Italian authorities includes not only HKG and MFM but also Taiwan on their latest ban on air services from China.
The news has spread on multiple Chinese-language forums in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and local media has reported it.
CI and CX seem to have pulled off their direct flight inventories. BR hasn't done so on their MXP service to be inaugurated in mid-February.
CI and BR told Taiwanese media that they are still verifying with authority.

This could have a big impact given the 2/28 holiday in Taiwan is approaching. Might have some impact on the local tourism industry in Italy given they already lost the Chinese visitors for the time being.

Yachtman

It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Yachtman

https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202002010004

Yachtman

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...sed-flight-ban

jcaitsith

I was booked on their BR72 MXP-TPE flight due to depart on Apr 3rd and was told by their reservation office in Italy that it would be unlikely for them to start operating this route on Feb 18th as originally planned. There is alot of uncertainty and confusion as to when the flights may start operating out of Milan. What is certain is that the initial ban will be effective until the end of April, unless they manage to convince the Italian govt to limit the existing flight restrictions to mainland China and its special administrative regions only. That does sound unlikely though.
Despite there being no official travel advisory posted on their website and no getting help whatsoever from their FB and Twitter reps, a ticketing agent told me on the phone that cancellation fees and restrictions would be waived should I wish to cancel my confirmed ticket. I have submitted my request for refund this morning; fingers crossed.
The whole situation has been very frustrating and managed poorly by EVA Air. Would have expected better assistance and communication from such a reputable airline.
p.s. my original itinerary only involved layovers in Taiwan both outbound and inbound (MXP-TPE-NRT ICN-TPE-MXP), I hope that my refund request does not get dismissed on this ground. any input is welcome.

gengar

To be fair, I don't expect great service from BR - but this is clearly a situation created by total morons in Italy rather than at BR.

The fact that your ticket transits (rather than originates in) TPE is immaterial to the fee waiver offered by BR; all that matters is that you were ticketed on the affected flights.

tya

I second that! BR is not known for being apt in dealing with IRROPs.

Totally agree. Even de facto Italian embassy to Taiwan in Taipei made a post on Facebook the other day that they will talk to the "competent Italian government authorities" about this problem. Not sure those authorities will be competent enough to reverse the mistake.

​​​​But I also wonder why not ask BR to transfer you to other flights since your final destination is not TPE

jcaitsith

The agent I spoke to said that they could only reroute me through their own european destinations, which would have also meant adding another layover to the itinerary (VIE, CDG or LHR).
I was also told that it would not be possible for them to transfer my ticket to a different airline such as AF, LH, SQ, or TG. So keeping my itinerary a one stop journey to each destination was out of the question.
Furthermore, as unlikely as it is, I would not want to find myself back to square one if other European countries decided to follow suit.

gengar

Not at all to take away from what an unfortunate situation this is - but to be fair, I wouldn't expect any airline to endorse to another carrier for a flight, two months away, that isn't officially canceled yet, and if canceled would be due to circumstances entirely out of their control.

claimui

I think there is a good chance that Italy will change their position. Italy is the outlier here. No other countries have banned flights with Taiwan. Vietnam did and reversed their position almost immediately.

Saw this article today: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-c...-idUSKBN20101N

If Italy is willing to allow some China flights, I can see them as reinstating Taiwan at the same time -- that would be a face-saving solution for China as well.

username

I am guessing some bureaucrat in Italy probably said "oh, one China so..." - even though the bilateral agreements are separate. For people who say Mainland China made Italy include TW in this ban, it did not seem Italy consulted anyone and issued it unilaterally.

I wonder if BR will actually go ahead with MXP inauguration even if the ban is lifted. People are not exactly in the mood to travel - and you run the risk of being stuck somewhere.

The other day (30th, after the panic started and masks started to run out), on the bus in Taipei, I observed this teenage girl who pulled off her mask -> sneezed -> started picking her nose. I almost wanted to give her a lecture but was too busy staying away from the sneeze. Then there are these reported cases of people returning from infected areas not following rules. I hope things stay under control in TW and get under control on Mainland sooner rather than later.

BlackHappy

sounds about right. A doctor friend in Taipei was telling me about these patients who would take off their face masks to sneeze. When asked why they would do that, they said that they didn’t want to get their masks dirty. SMH

sfo3388

Milan service is postponed to May 18th.
https://www.routesonline.com/news/38...-mayjune-2020/

tya

Official BR statement is out. Not seen in the statement is their decision to also postpone Phuket inauguration.

I also do agree that it could be an unintentional mistake made by the Italian bureaucrats, but they might have good reasons to leave the ban as is since the epidemic is developing so fast. I do think some other Asian countries are much riskier than Taiwan is though.

Understandable. But just want to mention that there are some signs greater epidemic may be possible in other Asian countries. Singapore, for example, has reported local confirmed cases where they can't trace the origins. Whether that would mean the Italian or other European countries would take additional measures is another question, but you may want to choose your backup routing wisely if you are still traveling.

username

This is why it is smart to not do any international travel right now if you can (by air, ship, train, etc.), especially to/from/within Asia. You never know what might happen and you end up getting quarantined.