Taipei airport ground staff wave to a China Airlines aircraft as it takes off to Shanghai, at the Taipei Songshan Airport June 14, 2010. The Chinese mainland and Taiwan launched a new direct flight service between Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai and Taipei's Songshan Airport which officially started on Monday. [Agencies]
TAIPEI: A passenger flight took off from Taipei's Songshan airport and arrived at Shanghai's Hongqiao airport Monday morning, inaugurating a new cross-Straits air route.
The new direct flight route will shorten the travel time between Taipei and Shanghai as the two airports are both centrally located.
The two cities already operate direct flights between their two larger international terminals - Taoyuan Airport in Taipei and Pudong Airport in Shanghai.
Although flight time between Songshan and Hongqiao is 90 minutes, the same as the Taoyuan-Pudong route, passengers will spend less time commuting as both airports are close to downtown.
"If I took the Taoyuan-Pudong flight, I would spend three to four hours in commuting," said Hsu Cheng-lung, a Taiwan businessman on board Monday morning's flight operated by Taiwan-based China Airlines. Owning a factory in Kunshan near Shanghai, Hsu travels between Taipei and Shanghai three to four times a month.
It takes about one hour by car from Taoyuan to downtown Taipei while Songshan airport is about a 20-minute ride. Hongqiao Airport is about 13 km from downtown Shanghai while Pudong is 40 km from the city center.
"For a business traveler, time is the most important thing. And tourists can pay less for a taxi," Hsu said. "I am looking forward to having breakfast at home, lunch in Shanghai, and then dinner at home again."
Also Monday morning, another passenger flight, operated by mainland-based China Eastern Airlines, left Shanghai Hongqiao Airport for Taipei's Songshan at 11 am.
According to Taiwan aviation authorities, there will be 28 flights per week between the two terminals, half operated by Taiwan airlines and half by mainland airlines.After infrastructure at Songshan airport is upgraded, there may be more flights between the two terminals, said Li Lung-wen, head of the Taiwan aviation department.
Among the flight's passengers was a delegation of local officials and legislators, including Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin.
"Through more direct flights with Shanghai, we are looking forward to more companies setting up offices in Taipei. And the city will be richer and better for it," he said.
Flights will also begin between Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport in October, Hau said, adding that discussions on flights to Seoul's Gimpo Airport are also underway.
Shanghai Hongqiao Airport already has flights to Haneda and Gimpo airports. Like Hongqiao and Songshan, Haneda and Gimpo are centrally located and mainly used for domestic flights.
"If the four cities can be linked by shorter and easier flights, it will no doubt have a positive impact on business, trade, cultural and personnel exchanges," Hau said.
A ceremony is held to mark opening of a new direct flight service between Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai and Taipei's Songshan Airport, at the Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai Monday, June 14, 2010. [Xinhua]
Thanks to the new route, cross-Straits travel will be easier and more comfortable, which will attract more mainland tourists to Taipei, said Tsai Chin-lung, a local legislator also on the first flight.
"We hope the people from the two cities will become more familiar with each other with the new flight route, strengthening cross-Strait ties. It will also boost East Asia's development if Taipei, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul are closer."
In a meeting with the delegation headed by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin, Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said the new direct flight was an important outcome of the two cities' forum held in April.
Han told the visiting delegation that display of Taipei in the ongoing Shanghai World Expo has been very successful and attracted a lot of visitors by conveying environment-friendly and informatization ideas.
Hau said the new direct flight would not only bring the two cities closer, but also shorten the distance among hearts of the people of the two cities.
Hau said that cultural exchanges could break various obstacles and Taipei Cultural Week for the expo will present visitors performances featuring both traditional Chinese culture and innovative elements.
A mainland passenger shows his boarding pass of the new air flight at the Taipei Songshan Airport Monday, June 14, 2010. [Xinhua]
A China Airlines plane is seen sliding to the runway through the window of the waiting hall at the Taipei Songshan Airport Monday, June 10, 2010. [Xinhua]
A China Airlines aircraft from Taipei arrives at Shanghai's Hongqiao airport at 10:27 am Monday, June 14, 2010. [Xinhua]
Two Taiwanese passengers pose for pictures after they get off a China Airlines plane at the Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai Monday, June 14, 2010. [Xinhua]
