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Taiwan airlines give up on China

Taiwan-registered airlines that want permission to reroute Europe-bound flights through Chinese airspace now appear likely to abandon that goal after the government railed against the idea.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said that it currently saw no flight safety reasons that would merit such a rerouting.

"The government does not believe that airlines need to fly over China for flight safety reasons," a MAC spokesperson told the media.

Taiwan's Statute Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area forbids Taiwan-registered carriers to fly within Chinese airspace. Airlines wishing to do so, however, may apply to the Civil Aeronautics Administration for permission.

The MAC decides whether to grant permission based on individual airlines' needs, since the issue involves cross-strait relations, said Fu Don-cheng (傅棟成), director of the MAC's economic affairs department, explaining the council's response.

"The issue should not be open for discussion as there has been plenty of discourse on it already," Fu said.

The MAC also said yesterday that the agenda of a canceled meeting -- scheduled to be held yesterday -- between the MAC, Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Taipei Airline Association, had not included the rerouting issue.

But Alex Shih (施建華), secretary-general of the Taipei Airline Association, which represents all six Taiwan-based carriers, said he believed that the issue was to have been discussed.

"China Airlines, although it wants the over-flight rights, would not propose any application for such rights unless it was clear that the government would approve it," said Paul Wang, spokesman for the airline. "Otherwise the submission would simply be a waste of time."

He admitted, however, that there are technical problems that would need to be overcome before over-flight rights could be granted.

A source who wished to remain anonymous said EVA Airways was likely to drop plans to apply for rerouting rights due to the view that "the government remains somewhat conservative on the matter."

The source said it was clear that the MAC was unwilling to allow aircraft to fly in Chinese airspace.

The MAC, meanwhile, continued to stress that it would make a decision "based on evaluation of individual airlines' unique needs."

"The war [in Afghanistan] has not affected flight safety and saving costs and time are general concerns shared by all air carriers," the source said. "It is hard for the airlines to claim that they have urgent and unique requirements for the rerouting."
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