According to the storm forecast from the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, on July 20, storm No. 3 Wipha will move in the West Northwest direction, then turn to the West at a speed of 20-25km/h and is likely to continue to strengthen.
The center of the storm is in the northwestern sea of the North East Sea, about 220km east of Zhejiang Peninsula (China).
The strongest wind near the storm center is level 11-12, gusting to level 15. Dangerous sea areas with strong winds of level 6 or higher are located between latitudes 19.0 to 23.0 degrees North latitude and longitude 110.5 to 120.0 degrees East longitude.
Due to the impact of Typhoon No. 3 Wipha, Vietnam Airlines announced adjustments to the flight schedule of some flights to and from Hong Kong (China) on July 20.
Specifically, flight VN592 on the Hanoi - Hong Kong route delayed its departure time from 10:30 to 17:00 on the same day. On the other afternoon, flight VN593 from Hong Kong to Hanoi changed from 14:30 to 21:00.
The VN594 flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong will change from 1:45 p.m. to 4:20 p.m., while the VN595 flight from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City will depart at 9pm. All times are calculated according to local time at the take-off site.
The airline said that some other domestic and international flights on July 20 could also be affected by the Wipha storm ring.
On the afternoon of July 19, Noi Bai International Airport also issued a weather warning due to the impact of storm No. 3.
On the same afternoon, Noi Bai airport recorded strong thunderstorms with gusts of wind up to 30KT, vision reduced to 1.5-3 km, forcing 9 flights to change direction to land at the reserve airport, and 3 other flights to temporarily suspend takeoff. By the end of the afternoon, weather conditions improved and flight operations returned to normal.
Previously, three major airlines in Taiwan (China) including China Airlines, EVA Air and Starlux Airlines canceled a series of flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong, Cao (China) over the two weekend days, according to Focus Taiwan.
Cathay Pacific also announced that it will cancel or delay all flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong (China) from 5am to 6pm on Sunday.
As of the afternoon of July 19, Typhoon Wipha has caused at least 57 flights in Taiwan (China) to be canceled, along with 114 ferry routes; this number is expected to continue to increase on July 20.
Passengers are advised to closely monitor information from airlines about flight schedules, coordinate with authorities to ensure safety, security and order at the terminal. Proactively update weather developments to prepare for a safe journey.
