Taiwan air force C-130s fly stranded travellers home from Kinmen and Matsu after Typhoon Champi

Taiwan's air force sent C-130 transport aircraft to Kinmen, Matsu and other outlying islands on Sunday 25 October to carry home travellers left stranded after Typhoon Champi grounded domestic flights, the Ministry of National Defense's Military News Agency reported. The military said the mission answered a request for help from the Civil Aeronautics Administration.

The need was greatest on Kinmen. Domestic services were cancelled progressively from 22 October and halted completely on 23 October, the Central News Agency reported, and although flights began to resume on Saturday afternoon, more than 1,000 people were still waiting at Kinmen's airport on Sunday. The Kinmen airport office counted 1,363 travellers on standby lists at noon, according to United Daily News: about 290 for Taipei, 555 for Taichung, 40 for Tainan and 478 for Kaohsiung.

Citing the airport office, the Central News Agency said the military planned six C-130 sorties out of Kinmen, two each to Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung, with each aircraft able to carry about 70 passengers. The flights began taking passengers from around midday. Uni Air also added an extra round trip to Taipei on Sunday, United Daily News reported, after Uni Air and Mandarin Airlines had flown late into Saturday night, with the last departure leaving Kinmen just before midnight.

Saturday's effort had not been enough to clear the backlog. United Daily News said the airport handled 42 flights carrying 3,828 people that day, while 31 domestic flights were still cancelled, 17 of them on the Taipei route. The Central News Agency added that ferries on the so-called mini three links route from mainland China kept bringing in travellers who were passing through Kinmen on their way back to Taiwan, adding to the queues.

Across the network, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said military aircraft flew eight sorties for Kinmen and Matsu on Sunday, providing 560 seats, according to the news site Knews. That count covers both island groups, while the six sorties announced by the Kinmen airport office covered Kinmen alone. The administration said airlines also operated 258 scheduled domestic flights with about 19,000 seats, plus eight extra or upsized flights with 640 seats.

Monday 26 October is the last day of the long holiday weekend, and the administration said it had already agreed with the military that military transport flights could resume if they are needed, while it continues to ask airlines for more extra services. It urged travellers to confirm a seat before going to an airport so that they do not wait there for hours.

The Military News Agency said the crews completed pre-flight preparation and mission briefings after receiving their orders and flew only once the weather met safe take-off and landing standards. Aircrews and ground staff then flew in batches to each outlying airport according to the stranded numbers passed on by the aviation authority, and personnel at the airports helped guide passengers, carry luggage and board the aircraft.

According to the agency, Air Force Command said that besides its core combat training duties it also has a responsibility to respond quickly to sudden emergencies, and that it activated its response arrangements as soon as the typhoon cut transport links to the islands. The air force framed the flights as part of the armed forces' role in supporting the public during disasters.