A senior Shanghai official has quelled any worries that the
pressure-laden Pudong International Airport would cancel some
scheduled cross-Straits charter flights due to the lingering
snow.
"Shanghai will not cancel any cross-Straits flights, as long as
the weather allows safe departure," said Shanghai Vice Mayor Tang
Dengjie when meeting with delegates of Taiwan compatriots working
in the city on Sunday.
Many of Taiwan compatriots were worried charter flights would be
cancelled by airports on China's mainland. The airports have been
heavily pressured by delayed flights and stranded passengers as the
worst snow in decades continues to ravage many of the country's
eastern and southern regions.
Shanghai is the busiest port for cross-Straits charters among
the four designated mainland cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou
and Xiamen. It will handle 24 round-trip charters for the Spring
Festival, which features family reunions by people on both sides of
the Straits.
Since this year's first cross-Strait charter took off from
snow-covered Pudong Airport on Saturday morning, the airport has
seen seven round-trip flights between Shanghai and Taiwan.
The airport has also given priority to planes on charter flights
in both de-icing and departure.
Two fully-loaded Xiamen Airline planes departed on schedule on
Monday morning from Gaoqi International Airport in Xiamen, Fujian
Province, taking home Taiwan compatriots to Taipei and Kaohsiung in
Taiwan.
(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2008)