The first chartered cargo flights between the Chinese mainland
and Taiwan will begin this evening.
A Boeing 747-400 cargo plane, operated by Taiwan-based China
Airlines, takes off from Taoyuan Airport in Taipei at 10:00 PM
tonight and arrives at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai
at 1:00 AM on Thursday.
The mainland-based Cross-Straits Aviation Transport Exchange
Council and the Taipei Airlines Association agreed on a framework
for chartered flights for festivals and special cases on June
14.
The five chartered cargo flights will carry equipment, parts and
components to be used in Taiwan-invested factories on the
mainland.
Chartered flights will run during Qingming, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn?festivals as well as the Spring Festival season, according to the
agreement.
The two sides also agreed to open chartered flights for
emergency medical purposes and first aid for the disabled alongside
the cargo services. ?
Air cargo from Taiwan is usually first transported to Hong Kong
and then carried to Shanghai by the Shanghai-based China Eastern
Airlines or the Hong Kong-based Dragonair, which was taken over by
Cathay Pacific this June.
It's believed the operation of chartered cargo flights will help
slash transport costs and promote trade and economic cooperation
across the Taiwan Straits.
Some analysts believe the start of chartered flights for
festivals and cargo services could be a big step toward Taiwan
lifting a five-decade ban on regular air links across the Straits.
Cross-straits chartered flights with stopovers in Hong Kong or
Macao began during the Spring Festival of 2003.
(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2006)