HK Confirms Taiwanese Plane Warned Of 'situation'

Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has confirmed that it warned the crew of Taiwanese civilian plane of a "situation" on Thursday, a move which led to the aircraft abandoning its flight to Taiwan's Pratas Islands and returning to Kaohsiung.

A CAD spokeswoman didn't explain what the situation was, but said the department had told its Taiwanese counterpart that the charter flight needed to maintain a safe altitude.

Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration has said that Hong Kong air traffic controllers told the captain of the weekly flight that "dangerous activities" were taking place below 26,000 feet, so he couldn't enter the SAR's flight information region.

Taipei said there had been no prior warning. However, the CAD said it had been acting in accordance with an established mechanism and procedures, and that approval is needed when Taiwanese planes use the flight route in question.

The Pratas Islands, also known as the Dongsha Islands, are around 300 kilometres to the southeast of Hong Kong.

The weekly charter flight to the islands from Kaohsiung mostly carries Taiwan government and coastguard personnel and is not open to ordinary travellers.