What’s new: Direct flights between Taiwan and 10 Chinese mainland cities resumed Friday after a three-year suspension during the pandemic, a step toward restoring cross-Strait travel.
Authorities in Taiwan said Thursday that direct flights would be reestablished between the island and mainland cities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing and Hangzhou.
Meanwhile, charter flights will be allowed between Taiwan and 13 mainland cities that “have not met the conditions for resumption of flights,” Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office called on Taiwan to fully resume cross-Strait direct flights.
The context: Air travel between Taiwan and the mainland was significantly reduced since February 2020 after the pandemic broke out. Direct commercial flights were available only between Taipei, Taoyuan and Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Xiamen on the mainland.
In February, mainland aviation authorities asked Taiwan to resume cross-Strait direct flights to 16 mainland destinations as the mainland dropped strict virus restrictions and contained subsequent outbreaks.
Cross-Strait flights in the first week of March totaled 278, 23% of the total in the same period of 2019 before the pandemic.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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