Taiwan to allow charter flights from 13 locations in China over LNY

Taipei, Jan. 8 (CNA) Taiwan will allow charter passenger flights from 13 additional locations in China to meet the increased travel demand around the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said Monday.

In a press release, the CAA noted that regular direct flights are already offered between Taiwan and 15 cities in China.

In order to accommodate an expected rise in demand around the Lunar New Year, the agency said it is now accepting applications from carriers seeking to arrange charter flights from 13 selected cities between Jan. 31 and Feb. 20.

The 13 locations from which the charter flights will be allowed are Shenyang, Wuxi, Haikou, Changsha, Xi'an, Jinan, Hefei, Nanchang, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Dalian, Guilin, and Xuzhou.

To receive authorization for a flight, carriers should send an application, including a copy of the charter contract, to the CAA at least ten working days before the flight's scheduled departure, the agency said.

Although tourism links between Taiwan and China have been largely frozen for the past three years, there are over 300,000 Taiwanese (as of 2021) working in China, many of whom come back to visit family over the Lunar New Year.

China's government halted independent travel to Taiwan on Aug. 1, 2019, citing the poor state of cross-strait relations. It then suspended group travel in 2020. Both rules remain in effect.

Taiwan, meanwhile, halted group travel to China at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and is yet to lift its restrictions on most travelers from China.

Last November, Taiwan's transportation minister said the government was planning to ease its restrictions on Taiwanese tour groups traveling to China, and Chinese tour groups coming to Taiwan, possibly starting in March.