Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Tuesday that Taiwan's representative offices in Europe are doing their best to help Taiwanese travelers stranded around the northern part of the continent due to bad weather.
The ministry confirmed that as of Tuesday morning, more than 100 Taiwanese tourists were stranded in Cologne, Vienna and London after heavy snow caused the cancellation and delay of flights across the European continent.
With the help of Taiwan's representative office, 73 Taiwanese tourists received a temporary visa or a Schengen visa exemption from the immigration office in Vienna, MOFA spokesman James Chang said.
Another group of 54 travelers on a China Airlines flight had arrived in London after previously being kept in Cologne, where the tourists received a group Schengen visa so they could leave the airport during their stay.
Dozens of Taiwanese travelers were also still in London waiting for Heathrow and Gatwick airports to open, Chang said.
The MOFA believed there were other Taiwanese travelers facing problems in Europe, and the Department of European Affairs was still gathering information on their situations, Chang said.
The ministry had a similar experience in helping more than 1,900 Taiwanese travelers get to their destination or apply for temporary travel documents in April, when a volcanic eruption in Iceland disrupted thousands of flights around Europe, Chang said. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls