Mandarin Airlines allowed to halve Hualien flights | Taiwan News | Aug. 27, 2026 15:05

Mandarin Airlines has received conditional approval from Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration to reduce its Hualien flights from Oct. 1, local reports said Thursday. The carrier and Uni Air subsidiary had applied to end all Hualien routes because they were losing money. Mandarin currently operates seven weekly flights between Kaohsiung and Hualien and three weekly flights between Taichung and Hualien. Under the regulator’s tentative approval, Mandarin could cut Kaohsiung–Hualien to five flights per week, or three if the occupancy rate falls below 20%. For Taichung–Hualien, it could keep three flights or reduce to two with low occupancy. The new schedule requires final CAA approval, and the company cited losses of NT$70 million (US$2.2 million) per year on two flights.