The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) yesterday said that Japan would lift restrictions on flights from Taiwan to Tokyo starting on Sunday, indicating that plane tickets to the Japanese capital could soon become cheaper.
The agency said that the two countries had inked an open-sky agreement in 2011 that had lifted restrictions on flights to all cities in Japan, except Tokyo.
The agreement stipulated that the limitation on Tokyo-bound flights would be eased once traffic at Narita International Airport reached more than 270,000 aircraft per year.
The agency said that the Japanese government informed it that the airport would start operating under a summer schedule on Sunday and would no longer restrict the number of flights between Taiwan and Tokyo.
However, flights between Taiwan and Tokyo that fly to a third country via the airport will still not be allowed.
Following the agency’s announcement, TransAsia Airways said that it would start offering flight services to Japan, while both China Airlines and EVA Airways have said that they have no plans yet to increase their flights to Tokyo.
Agency statistics show that there are 130 flights operated by Taiwanese, Japanese and other foreign carriers between Taiwan and Tokyo each week. Among them, 56 are between Taipei International Airport (Songshan) and Haneda Airport. The rest of the flights are from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport.
The open-sky policy between Taiwan and Japan has drawn interest from low-cost carriers, with Malaysia-based Air Asia, as well as AirAsia Japan — Air Asia’s joint venture with All Nippon Airways — reported to have plans to launch a new flight service between Taipei and Tokyo.
Scoot Airlines, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, began offering one flight a day from Singapore to Tokyo via Taipei last year and could increase the frequency of this service following the easing of the restritions, media reports say.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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