Taiwan, Finland sign air service agreement

Taipei, Feb. 28 (CNA) Taiwan signed an air service agreement with Finland in Helsinki Thursday, the country's first such flight service deal with a Nordic country, the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said in a statement.

The air service agreement was signed between Taiwan CAA Director-General Ho Shu-ping (何淑萍) and her Finnish counterpart Jari Pöntinen, the CAA said in the statement released Friday.

Under the newly signed agreement, the Taiwanese and Finnish governments can each appoint multiple companies to operate up to 14 round-trip passenger flights a week, according to the statement.

The same applies to cargo services as well.

The CAA called the signing of the air service agreement, years in the making, a milestone in the development of aviation for both Taiwan and Finland.

Taiwan-based China Airlines, EVA Airways and Starlux Airlines all sent officials to join Ho's visit to Finland, according to the CAA.

Prior to the signing of the air service agreement with Finland, Taiwan had signed such bilateral deals with 57 countries or regions, with direct services available to 34 of them, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said in a report submitted to the Legislature in October 2024.

Finnair is Finland's main international carrier, which once advertised itself as the carrier providing one of the fastest services between Asia and Europe via Helsinki before the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the "shortcut" it took over Russia.

However, Russia's closure of its airspace to European Union members including Finland, in the aftermath of its invasion of Ukraine, has led to longer flight time for Finnair, the carrier said in a statement in March 2022.

Finnair plans to operate direct passenger services to several Asian destinations near Taiwan, including Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore and Shanghai, during the 2025 summer season, according to its website.