Etihad Airways has apologised after a Mandarin onboard announcement on a flight from Abu Dhabi to Taipei referred to Taiwan as “Taiwan, China”, prompting criticism in Taiwan and a formal response from aviation authorities. The airline has revised the wording, with the incident centring on an arrival announcement rather than a route or commercial change.
Etihad’s headquarters sent an apology letter to Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration on 21 August, confirming that it had reviewed and corrected the script. It also pledged to inspect other Taiwan-related onboard announcements and passenger-service documents, while strengthening content review and staff training.
The dispute escalated after passengers reported that the Mandarin version differed from the English announcement, which used “Taiwan”. Taiwanese authorities treated the wording as unacceptable and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a strong protest. The episode highlights the sensitivity of multilingual onboard messaging on flights to Taiwan, where terminology choices can quickly become a diplomatic issue for foreign carriers.