As Taiwan's first direct charter flight to Moscow took off yesterday morning, a China Airlines official said that future air service between Moscow and Taiwan would depend on market demand.
"Whether there would be a second round of charter flights or regular commercial flights between Taipei and Moscow will mainly depend on market demand," Joseph Wu (武志厚) general-manager of CAL's department of media affairs, told the Taipei Times.
The CAL Airbus A340-300 passenger jet departed at 9:30am from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport with 214 passengers on board. It was scheduled to arrive at Domodeovo International Airport in Moscow yesterday evening after 10 hours and 50 minutes of estimated travel time.
The same aircraft was to return to Taiwan today carrying nearly 100 Russian passengers.
Minister of Transportation and Communication (MOTC) Lin Ling-san (
Among the passengers were several government officials including Lee Long-wen (李龍文) director of the MOTC's Department of Navigation and Aviation, Abram Huang (黃錫榮), deputy director-general of the Civil Aeronautics Administration and representatives from the Tourism Bureau. A group of 10 lawmakers from across party lines was also on board.
The passengers are scheduled to depart Moscow on the Russian-based Transaero Boeing 767 flight to Taipei on Aug. 31.
That flight will then leave Taiwan with the Russian tourists on the morning of Sept. 1.
Lin said that Taiwan would not give up striving to establish regular long-distance flights between Moscow and other European countries.
Although Taiwan and Russia signed an agreement on direct air links in 1993, Beijing has been strongly opposed to the accord.
Wu said that CAL was given rights to the Taipei-Moscow flights under the agreement but that he could not comment further on the matter.
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