International flight schedules disrupted as Typhoon Danas nears Taiwan (update)

*The story was updated at 11:35 p.m. with latest announcements from EVA Air and Tigerair Taiwan.

Taipei, July 5 (CNA) The schedules for some international flights operated by China Airlines and Tigerair Taiwan on Sunday have been adjusted due to an approaching tropical storm, but EVA Air and Starlux Airlines had not announced any changes as of Saturday night.

At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) announced a land typhoon warning for Tropical Storm Danas as it continued to approach Taiwan from the southwest.

Rain or thunderstorms were expected Sunday in areas south of Chiayi County and in Hualien and Taitung counties, where heavy to torrential rainfall is possible.

With the threat of bad weather most likely to affect the major airport in southern Taiwan in Kaohsiung, many canceled or adjusted flights were for flights using that airport.

China Airlines announced Saturday evening that the following flights scheduled for Sunday have been canceled: Kaohsiung-Tokyo Narita CI126/CI127, Kaohsiung-Bangkok CI839/CI840, Kaohsiung-Osaka CI176/CI177, Kaohsiung-Okinawa CI132/CI133, Kaohsiung-Shanghai Pudong CI583/CI584, and Kaohsiung-Hong Kong CI935/CI936.

In addition, the Kaohsiung-Shenzhen CI585/CI586 flight has been rescheduled to depart earlier Sunday, while flight CI165 from Seoul Incheon to Kaohsiung and flight CI103 from Tokyo Narita to Kaohsiung have been postponed to depart on July 7.

Tigerair Taiwan also announced adjustments to some of its Sunday flights.

Flight IT288 from Kaohsiung to Okinawa (Naha) will depart early at 08:15 a.m. while return flight IT289 from Okinawa (Naha) to Kaohsiung will depart early at noon.

Flight IT321 from Kaohsiung to Macau will depart early at 1:05 p.m. and flight IT372 from Macau to Taichung will depart early at 3:50 p.m.

Finally, flight IT280 from Kaohsiung to Tokyo (Narita) will depart early at 07:05 a.m. and return flight IT281 will leave Tokyo early at 12:30 p.m.

[Update: Tigerair Taiwan announced later Saturday that several flights have been canceled, including Kaohsiung-Gimpo IT662/IT663, Kaohsiung-Fukuoka IT274/IT275 and Kaohsiung-Tokyo (Narita) IT280/IT281. The Kaohsiung-Da Nang T585/IT586 flights have been postponed to depart on July 7.]

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said no changes have been made to the Sunday flight schedules of EVA Air and Starlux Airlines, but the carriers will continue to monitor the storm's trajectory and hold meetings Saturday evening and Sunday morning to coordinate any necessary changes.

[Update: EVA Air announced later Saturday that all flights departing from and arriving in Kaohsiung on Sunday afternoon have been canceled.]

According to the CAA, Uni Air and Mandarin Airlines -- the two main carriers operating domestic routes between Taiwan proper and outlying islands such as Kinmen and Matsu -- have announced the cancellation of all domestic flights scheduled for Sunday.

As of 6 p.m. Saturday, a total of 22 domestic flights had been canceled and four delayed, the CAA said.

In terms of train service, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) announced that all train services will operate normally Sunday, with each train departing according to schedule.

The company said that to ensure operational safety on Sunday, however, trains will reduce their speeds on certain sections if wind speeds or rainfall exceed operational safety limits.