Flight GE301/2 of Taiwan's Transasia Airways completed a round
flight between Taipei and Shanghai on Friday, ending the
cross-Straits flights between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan for
the Dragon Boat Festival.
The Chinese mainland and Taiwan launched cross-Straits charter
flights for the Dragon Boat Festival for the first time on June
12.
Five mainland airline companies including Air China and six
Taiwan companies including China Airlines undertook 21 round
flights from June 15 to June 22, according to the General
Administration of Civil Aviation of China.
Among the mainland cities, 14 round flights were completed in
Shanghai, four in Xiamen, two in Guangzhou and one in Beijing.
"People on neither side have official holidays for the Dragon
Boat Festival, but the seat occupancy rate is still high," Xinhua
learned from the administration.
"Taiwan businessmen on the mainland and their relatives booked
many seats, as well as a lot of Taiwan tourists sightseeing or
visiting relatives," according to the administration.
During Xinhua's interviews with Taiwan passengers, many said
charter flights at festival times were not enough and expressed
their hope that charter flights would soon become regular
flights.
The first non-stop charter flights across the Taiwan Straits
were launched during the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2005. Prior to
that there had not been direct air links across the Taiwan Straits
for more than five decades.
In June 2006, the mainland and Taiwan agreed to open charter
flights for other traditional festivals, including Tomb-sweeping
Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-autumn Festival.
The first cross-Straits charter flights for Mid-autumn Festival
and Tomb-sweeping Festival occurred in October 2006 and April 2007
respectively.
(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2007)