Taiwan-based air carriers are keenly hoping for direct transport links across the Taiwan Strait after President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen said that the government's executive branch is currently devising a plan to provide a convenient and swift way to facilitate charter flights for passengers and cargo. He voiced hope that cross-strait consultations can begin as soon as possible to seek further progress in the "three-links" policy.
China Airlines and EVA Airways Corporation -- Taiwan's two largest aviation companies -- said that Beijing should respond quickly to Chen's call since the move would benefit both sides.
Taking factors such as travel time, fuel costs and market share into consideration, they said that the technical issues of cargo travel are easier to handle. They urged Taiwan authorities to put forward concrete measures, such as allowing mainland China's carriers to offer the same services.
Taiwanese make about four million trips every year to China via a third country or area, incurring an extra cost of about NT$30 billion (US$890 million).
If extra flying time and fuel costs are added, the total cost for travelling through a third area -- usually Hong Kong or Macau -- is about NT$100 billion per year.
According to estimates by the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) , the volume of present indirect cargo travel between Taiwan and mainland China amounts to around 66,225 tonnes each year.
In an effort to tap the cross-strait market, China Airlines has signed an accord for joint operations with China's Air China, China Southern Airlines Co, Ltd. and China Eastern Air, Ltd.
The MAC has announced that future cross-strait routes will be open to six carriers based in Taiwan.
An assessment by the Taipei Aviation Industry Association shows that direct cross-strait air links will help passengers flying between the two sides save some 50 percent in travel time on single trips and that carriers can save from US$50,000 to US$80,000 in operating costs on a round trip.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
RSS