Taiwan lights up for the end of Lunar New Year

If Taiwan has been on your travel "to do" list then next week might be a good opportunity.

The 2026 Taiwan Lantern Festival will be held in Chiayi County from March 3 to 15. 

Diverse offerings include the chance to stand beneath a 21-metre tower of glowing light while drones paint the night sky, fireworks burst overhead, and the sounds of Irish tap dancers fill the air. 

Taiwan Lantern Festival is one of Asia's most beloved annual celebrations - marking the end of the Lunar New Year . 

Each year it rotates to a different city and this year's theme is "Glow with Taiwan, Light Up Chiayi". 

The festival has 12 official "must-see" attractions. The centrepiece is "Glow of Alishan", a towering 21-metre main lantern synchronized to a full sound and light show. 

International artists include France's Cavalcade of White Horses and high-energy Irish tap dancers, along with the Taiwanese Paper Windmill Theatre, and the Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group.

Chiayi is accessible by high-speed rail with the Chiayi HSR Station connected to Taipei in under 90 minutes. 

See more at 2026taiwanlanternfestival.org/En 

Another one bites the dust? Airline suspends services

It is always a risk booking flights with a small carrier in a bid to save money.

Filipino carrier Royal Air Philippines this week suspended all flight operations leaving passengers stranded, China Travel News reported.

While the Manila-based airline has halted all flights, it insists the suspension is a temporary measure but hasn’t given a reason for the suspension of services or how long it will last.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding," the airline said in a notice posted to its website. "We eagerly anticipate welcoming you aboard soon.”

Royal Air Philippines was established more than 20 years ago as a charter airline and in 2018 it pivoted to a scheduled airline.

Backed by Lancang–Mekong Group with investment from China, it struggled in a competitive market in 2025.

It operated a small number of domestic and international routes focused on the China leisure market from Hong Kong, Taipei and Quanzhou to holiday hotspots like Boracay and Bohol. 

Taiwan moves to increase visitor numbers from Australia and New Zealand

Taiwan is an increasingly popular destination for travellers from Australia and New Zealand.

The Taiwan Tourism Administration (TTA) this week opened the Australian Taiwan Tourism Information Centre (TTIC) in Sydney.

The opening comes as recent visitor data shows a growing trend with visitor numbers from Australia and New Zealand up by more than 26% in the past year and forecast to climb a further 16% in 2025.

More than 60% of Australians and New Zealanders who travel to Taiwan do so for leisure, making it one of Asia's fast-growing leisure destinations.

Arrivals between January and May 2025 were already up 17.47% against the same period in 2024, and TTA anticipates a total of 150,000 ANZ visitors in 2025.

Located in the Sydney CBD at 22 Market Street, the new TTIC is designed to offer travel advice, cultural showcases and insider tips.

"Australian travellers are adventurous and discerning, seeking meaningful cultural encounters and authentic nature experiences, and Taiwan has it all," said Shih-fang Huang, deputy director general of Taiwan Tourism Administration.

"With the opening of our new TTIC Sydney office, we're making it even easier for Australians to discover Taiwan's beauty, flavours and culture, while strengthening our partnerships here and underscoring our commitment to the country."

Direct flights to Taiwan are available on China Airlines and EVA Air. 

See eng.taiwan.net.tw

Image: Taipei City

Typhoon threatens air travel chaos across Asian destinations

Good luck to anyone planning to fly in or out of major East Asian airports this week.

Typhoon Ragasa is threating the Philippines, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong and is expected to become the season’s first super typhoon with significant impacts on land, the WeatherZone website reported.

The system is forecast to unleash destructive winds, torrential rain and life-threatening storm surges as it rages over northern Philippines and southern Taiwan early in the week, before continuing towards southern China and Hong Kong as a typhoon by midweek.

Philippines authorities are warning of winds of 220–240 km/h are possible across northern Luzon, the Babuyan Islands, Batanes and southern Taiwan from late Monday.

Beyond the Philippines and Taiwan, Nando is projected to bring significant winds and rain to southern China, including coastal areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, as well as Hong Kong, from late Tuesday into Thursday.

Hundreds of flights had been cancelled by lunchtime Tuesday, Australian time.   

Rainfall of around 200mm is expected along the southern China coast, leading to potential flooding and transport disruptions.

Hong Kong International Airport (top image) will suspend all passenger flights for 36 hours from Tuesday evening. Australian airline Qantas said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Airport Authority Hong Kong said it is closely monitoring the developments regarding the super typhoon.

Across Hong Kong, residents started stockpiling daily necessities on Monday morning. Long queues formed at supermarkets where products like milk had already sold out, while vegetables were being sold for more than triple their normal price at fresh markets.

Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific said on Monday that it expects to cancel more than 500 flights.

"Starting at 6pm tomorrow, September 23, Cathay Pacific's passenger flights arriving at and departing from Hong Kong International Airport will cease operations until resuming during daytime hours on Thursday," a spokeswoman for the airline said.

Technology aims to reduce lost baggage delays

China Airlines check-in

Most frequent flyers have suffered from that sinking feeling at least once.

The baggage carousel comes to a halt and there is no sign of your suitcase.

You join other disappointed folk in a line to report the absence of your bag - and hope the airline gets it back to you sooner or later.

In my experience, that can range from a few hours (Virgin Australia) to over a week of frustration (Air Canada).

Now some airlines are trying to eliminate the problem.

Taiwan-based China Airlines (CAL), for instance, has implemented Apple’s new Share Item Location feature to help locate lost or delayed bags quicker, news portal Travel Mole reports.

This allows sharing the location of passengers’ AirTag or Find My network accessory with the airline’s customer service.

It is expected to speed up the recovery of lost or delayed baggage, the Asian Aviation website reported.

In order to share the baggage location with the airline, customers can generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

The link can be shared with CAL via a lost baggage form or with an agent at the service counter.

CAL integrates this information into existing systems to digitally support baggage tracking.

For customers’ privacy and security, location sharing will automatically end as soon as a customer is reunited with their bag and can be halted by the customer at any time.

Further digital technologies are now being harnessed at CAL to develop even smarter and more structured services, the airline says.