Taiwan and Italy yesterday signed a new aviation pact that would increase the number of direct flights to cities in the southern European nation from seven to 19 per week.
The revised air transport services agreement was signed by Civil Aviation Administration Director-General Ho Shu-ping (何淑萍) and Italian Civil Aviation Authority President Pierluigi Umberto di Palma in Taipei yesterday.
Based on the revised pact, two-way passenger traffic would be greatly expanded from 14 flights per week to 38 flights per week. Aside from Rome and Milan, Venice is to be added as a new destination for direct flights.
Photo courtesy of the Civil Aviation Administration
Of the three cargo flights per week, two could fly an extended flight to a third destination in accordance with the fifth freedom of the air, effectively increasing flexibility in airline operators’ arrangement of passenger and cargo services.
China Airlines currently offers three weekly flights to Rome, while EVA Air provides four flights to Milan per week. The average passenger load factor was 81 percent last year, administration data showed.
Tourism Administration data last year showed that the number of visitors between Taiwan and Italy exceeded 70,000, an increase of more than 20 percent compared with the same period the previous year.
The new aviation service agreement would further help airlines increase flights according to market demand, improve the convenience of people traveling between Taiwan and Italy, and promote exchanges in trade, tourism and culture between the two countries, the Civil Aviation Administration said.
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