TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A "Notice to Airmen" (NOTAM) issued at 7:30 a.m. Monday (Dec. 29) triggered a cascade across Taiwan's aviation system: 941 flights suddenly required new routes, potentialy impacting 100,000 passengers. Kinmen (金門) and Matsu (馬祖) islands will even loose all air connections, according to the time-sensitive alert for pilots and aviation personnel. By Tuesday, China's 24-hour notice for military exercises — six days short of international standards — will paralyze Taiwan's skies.
The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command announced the "Justice Mission 2025" (正義使命-2025) drills early Monday, with spokesman Shi Yi (施毅) declaring live firing exercises would close airspace around Taiwan from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday. Chinese civil aviation authorities issued the Notice to Airmen designating seven restricted areas around the island. The exact coordinates were not immediately available, although Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration said they cover most international routes in the Taipei Flight Information Region (台北飛航情報區), the airspace Taiwan manages for international aviation safety.
Taiwan Transportation Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) called the move "brutal and provocative." The ministry said China provided no coordination with affected flight information regions, a standard practice in international aviation that requires advance consultation through diplomatic and aviation safety channels. Chinese authorities did not specify the types of rockets or provide safety calculations to justify the extensive airspace closures.
The Taipei Flight Information Region manages 14 international air routes and four domestic routes. Only three routes to Japan — R595, R583 and M750, which pass northeast of the exercise zones — remain unaffected, leaving carriers no choice but to redirect hundreds of flights around the danger zones. Taiwan's major carriers — China Airlines (中華航空), EVA Air (長榮航空), Starlux (星宇航空) and Tiger Air (台灣虎航) — plan to operate international flights using alternative routes, although aviation regulators have warned significant delays are expected. Specific rerouting plans and additional fuel costs were not disclosed.