Flights to Taiwan canceled due to heavy fog

Domestic flights to Taiwan's outlying islands of Penghu and Matsu were canceled due to heavy fog at local airports, affecting thousands of passengers planning to travel home to cast their ballots in Saturday's presidential and legislative elections, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said later that day.As of 4 p.m., around 40 flights from Taiwan proper to Penghu and Matsu had been canceled because of the fog.

Chung Sheng-hsiung, director of the Beigan Airport Office on Matsu said that all three Beigan-bound flights for the day were canceled.While airline companies said passengers generally showed understanding over the situation, others were captured venting their frustration on local TV at missing the polls.I got up at 4 a.m. to catch a taxi for my flight to Penghu, one passenger said earlier at southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung International Airport.According to the Central Weather Bureau, the heavy fog was likely to persist in those areas until Sunday.The bureau, which had cautioned against the chance of fog since Friday, said it was very difficult to forecast when the fog would clear, as it is a temporary and localized weather pattern.