TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A total of 36 Taiwanese were on their way home from the Maldives Saturday (May 16) after the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic trapped them on the islands.
With assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the group managed to board an Air Asia charter flight Friday (May 15) night to take them from the Indian Ocean archipelago to Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where they arrived Saturday morning at 3:05, CNA reported. A China Airlines flight leaving at 2:45 p.m. was scheduled to see them arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport around 7:30 p.m., ending their ordeal.
However, three Taiwanese who also wanted to take the flight had been unable to make it on time, as they were living on remote islands and a storm complicated their travel plans to the capital.
The deal to charter the Air Asia plane had been worked out by the head of a Taiwanese business association in the Malaysian state of Penang, CNA reported. Allowing a further 52 Malaysians and six Japanese citizens to board the flight out of the Maldives had reduced the ticket price for the Taiwanese passengers as well.
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Source URL: Google News
