Although the launch of direct flights between Taipei’s Songshan Airport and Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport scheduled for today are expected to help boost Taipei City’s economy.
Taipei City Government has expressed high expectations that direct air links will provide closer connections and create more commercial opportunities for businesses on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
However, several taxi drivers working around Songshan Airport were less convinced about the benefits direct links would bring them.
PHOTO: CNA
One complained that even though there have been direct flights between Taiwan and China since July 2008, his business had not received a boost because Chinese tourists, who are still not allowed to travel alone, usually do not take taxis.
According to another, most Chinese tourists and businessmen are dropped off or picked up at the airport by relatives and friends or use the MRT system, adding that only those needing very short rides take taxis.
Another driver said there are 800 taxis operating around the airport, each of which making an average of just four or five trips per day, most of which cost about NT$100 each. The situation would not change much even after the direct flights are launched, he predicted.
Chen Ming-tsao (陳明灶), head of an airport taxi association, disagreed and said additional passengers would bring in more cash, especially as four more direct flights are to be added daily, each carrying between 180 and 200 passengers each.
Meanwhile, some passengers on the MRT’s Wenhu line linking Nangang, Neihu and Songshan, complained that the cars are too small.
A Taiwanese businessman operating in China said the line is convenient, but that the cars are too small for his luggage.
Others expressed concern that the line might not be able to handle the increased number of passengers between the two airports.
Chen Shih-hsiung (陳世雄), chief executive of a Taipei travel agency, said individual travelers are expected to benefit the most from direct air links.
Chen said that because Songshan Airport is only capable of accommodating medium-sized aircraft, such as the Boeing 738, which usually have 160 seats, travel agencies find it difficult to make block bookings for groups.
Songshan Airport maintains direct air links with seven Chinese cities and areas — Pudong, Fuzhou, Nanchang, Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing and Chengdu.
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