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MAC unveils indirect cargo flight plan

Starting on Sept. 25, domestic airlines will be allowed to operate indirect scheduled charter cargo flights to Shanghai for a year, moving the country a step closer toward direct cross-strait transportation links with China.

"Responding to the pressing need of China-based Taiwanese businesspeople and the elevation of their international competitive edge, we thought the program would effectively solve the problem of bottlenecks in cross-strait transportation," said Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

"We may extend the trial program if it goes well and receives a positive response," she said.

The one-year program will adopt a similar model to the indirect charter flights between Taipei and Shanghai for China-based Taiwanese businessmen and their families during the Lunar New Year in January this year.

On Tuesday, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) told a meeting of business leaders that "convenient" cargo links with China would be established by Oct. 19 when the 2003 Taiwan Business Alliance Conference convenes.

Under the indirect cargo flight program, flights will leave from CKS International Airport or Kaohsiung's Hsiaokang International Airport with a one-to-two-hour stopover in Hong Kong or Macao. The two designated airports in Shanghai are Putung and Hungchiao international airports.

Since the flights are not point-to-point, Tsai said, no government negotiations on aviation rights are needed. Interested airlines can apply to Chinese authorities in accordance with Chinese regulations.

Initially, only domestic airlines offering international flights are eligible to apply. The service will be available to China-based Taiwanese businesspeople who wish to import materials from Taiwan, or export finished goods to Taiwan for transshipment to other countries.

One round-trip will be operated each day. Irregular charter flights can be arranged if necessary, but not more than one a day or 360 a year, Tsai said.

"We're thinking of having each airline operate two to three flights a week at the beginning," Tsai said.

With the implementation of the program, Tsai said, the council expects to see the transportation volume of cargo across the Taiwan Strait to reach about 73,000 tonnes a year and the transportation time and cost reduced.

While the one-way trip from Taiwan to Shanghai with a transfer in Hong Hong or Macao takes about 12 to 16 hours, the time can be reduced to five or six hours if there is only a one-to-two-hour stop in Hong Kong or Macau. The direct flight time would be about four hours.

The cost of each flight between Taipei and Shanghai with a one-to-two-hour stop in Hong Kong or Macau is about US$110,000, and for a direct flight about US$85,600.

Fu Don-cheng (傅棟成), director of the council's Department of Economic Affairs, said that both China and Taiwan have reached a consensus on the matter.

"I don't see there's any reason that Beijing will oppose this mutually beneficial program," Fu said.

The indirect-flight program is conducive to both sides because it will generate experience for future implementation of direct cross-strait links, he said.

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