Cross-strait scheduled flights increased to 890 per week

Taipei, July 3 (CNA) The aviation authorities of Taiwan and China have decided to boost the number of regularly scheduled nonstop flights across the Taiwan Strait to 890 per week from the current 840, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said Friday.

The two sides have agreed to add Huaian, Yangzhou, Nantong and Yiwu along China's eastern coast, Yanji in northeastern China and Kashgar in western China, as new destinations to be served by cross-strait routes, according to the CAA.

Each side will be allowed to operate three flights per week between Taiwan and those six destinations, which will bring the total number of Chinese destinations covered in the cross-strait flight network to 61, the CAA said.

The other new regularly scheduled flights will be 14 flights a week previously operated as charters, it said.

The decision is a result of a meeting held recently between officials from Taiwan and China. It is unclear when the additional flights will take effect, CAA officials said.

Taiwan and China also decided during the meeting that additional flights will be provided over the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday to meet the peak travel demand traditionally seen at that time, the agency said.

(By Lee Hsin-Yin)ENDITEM/ls