Taipei airport launches ‘flight to nowhere’
A group of Taiwanese residents were able to finally board a plane recently but they didn’t actually get off the ground.
Taipei’s Songshan airport has come up with a gimmick to introduce ‘new normal’ air travel protocols to the public – a flight to nowhere.
It offered a pretend flight itinerary with check-in, a fake boarding pass, and security screening checks.
Passengers boarded the China Airlines Airbus A330 but it didn’t actually go anywhere.
Around 7,000 people applied to take part in the one-off stunt but only 60 were picked by lottery.
Due to the interest, the airport now plans more fake flights in the coming days, which will be operated by EVA Airways.
"People who didn’t have the opportunity to take international flights at Songshan can use this chance to experience and learn more about the boarding process and relevant service facilities," said airport deputy director, Chih ching Wang.
Taiwan has coped well with the pandemic with less than 450 cases so far.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said international travel would restart gradually.
Taiwan will host the first large cruise ship later this month since the pandemic shut down the entire global cruise industry.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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