International air links to Taiwan are to increase further amid favorable market conditions for the aviation industry, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said on Friday
Seventeen airlines that connect Taiwan with other nations are to add 30 routes, it said.
The routes — some new, some resumed and others to change hands — indicate that foreign and domestic airlines see promise in the local market, CAA official Han Chen-hua (韓振華) said.
The new routes are to transport passengers to and from Ontario, California, by China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空); Xining, China, by China Eastern Airlines Corp (中國東方航空); Muan, South Korea, by Jeju Air Co; Saga, Japan, by Tigerair Taiwan (台灣虎航); and starting on Oct. 28, Kitakyushu, Japan, by StarFlyer Inc.
The resumed routes are services to and from Paris by Air France; Jeju, South Korea, by Far Eastern Air Transport Corp (FAT); Auckland, New Zealand, by Air New Zealand — to start next month — and Seri Begawan, Brunei, by Royal Brunei Airlines.
Destinations previously suspended, but picked up by airlines this year are: Zhangjiajie, China, by FAT; Clark, Philippines, by Philippines AirAsia Inc; Chiang Mai, Thailand, by EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) and Thai AirAsia; Chongqing, China, by CAL by the end of this month; and Cebu and Manila, the Philippines, by Tigerair Taiwan in December.
Those services all carry passengers to and from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the CAA said.
In addition, there are routes added to services at airports in Taichung and Kaohsiung, making travel more convenient for people in central and southern areas, it said.
Of the 30 routes, 40 percent are to Northeast Asia, 33 percent are to Southeast Asia and 17 percent are to China, Han said.
From January to August, Taiwan saw 38.43 million passengers, with 2,818 round-trip flights per week, up 5 percent and 6 percent respectively from the same numbers last year, CAA data showed.
“Japan remains the most desired destination for Taiwanese,” Han said, adding that among the 2,818 flights each week, 670 were to Japan and 625 to China.
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