Locals and foreign workers in Macau may now find themselves racking their brains as they run out of options for air services and ways to fly out to Europe.
The Times has learned that some flights from Macau to London, which are operated by EVA Air and transit through Taipei, have been called off due to the low number of passengers. The move was made by the airline to reduce costs.
Taiwanese airline EVA Air is currently the one and only airline running air services from Macau to European countries through Taipei. However, it has cancelled scheduled flights to London lately, catching customers off guard.
The next EVA flight from Macau to London is slated to take off no earlier than January next year. This will be subject to passenger numbers as well, the Times was told by a local travel agency.
Those who want to travel directly to the United Kingdom via Taipei – be it for leisure, business or family reasons – can do nothing but wait for a few months.
Their alternative is to take a detour. This means taking an EVA route to Paris through Taipei, which runs every Friday, and then taking a third flight from Paris to London. The whole journey takes a total of over 27 hours, including the flights and layovers.
The aviation industry has fallen deep into the grip of Covid-19, suffering huge losses as global tourism comes to a virtually complete standstill.
Many commercial airlines are running skeleton operations with reduced manpower to stay afloat.
With Covid-19 travel restrictions still in place, traveling overseas through Hong Kong International Airport – the usual itinerary pre-pandemic – has become impracticable, as it entails a mandatory quarantine for 14 days in Hong Kong upon arrival.
In addition, some European countries are seeing a resurgence of the virus, with surging Covid-19 caseloads reported every day. The worsening situation may mean added uncertainties regarding the availability of flights or travel restrictions.
Macau is now left with only one route to Europe. Staff Reporter
[UPDATED]
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