Taiwan considers relaxing ban on transit passengers

TAIPEI, Jun 13, 2020, Taiwan News. The government is considering ending the ban on transit passengers, though they will still be barred from spending the night at the airport and would have to leave within eight hours, reports said Saturday (June 13), Taiwan News reported.

Taiwan imposed a total ban on passengers transiting through its airports on March 24 in an effort to stem the influx of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. As the pandemic has been slowing down, airlines, in particular, have been asking governments to begin relaxing restrictions on transit passengers, CNA reported.

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) contacted the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and the Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (TIAC) to discuss the idea. As soon as the airport can work out a special route for transit passengers to follow, restrictions can be loosened, according to the CNA report.

The basic question is how to keep incoming passengers separate from other travelers and airport staff as much as possible. Discussions as to whether or not to allow the transit passengers to visit duty-free shops are still ongoing; If passengers are still banned from shops, they may order goods online and have the products delivered to them at the airport, the report said.

Travelers in transit would not be allowed to venture outside the airport and enter Taiwan, while their connecting flight would have to leave within eight hours of their arrival in the island nation. They would also not be allowed to spend the night at the airport.