CAAC Assigns Mainland Airlines' Weekend Charter Flights

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has published the assignment plan of Chinese mainland airlines' operating weekend charter flights to Taiwan according to the agreement on cross-strait weekend charter flights signed by the Chinese Mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation.

In the first phase of cross-strait weekend charter flights, there are six Chinese mainland carriers allowed to operate the flights including Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, and Shanghai Airlines that have already offered festival charter services. The number of carriers in mainland China will be gradually and stably increased according to market requirements, flight frequencies and destinations.

According to CAAC's assignment plan, each of Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines will operate four round-trip flights a week, and Hainan Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, and Shanghai Airlines will have two round trip fights a week.

The plan also prescribes that, in principle, weekend charter flights of Air China and Hainan Airlines should depart from Beijing; China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines from Shanghai (Pudong); China Southern Airlines from Guangzhou; and Xiamen Airlines from Xiamen. According to the agreement on cross-strait weekend charter flights, the Chinese mainland agreed to open Beijing, Shanghai (Pudong), Guangzhou, Xiamen, and Nanjing as the first destinations for cross-strait weekend charter flights. And there is no limit on airlines' operating flights departing from the new destination: Nanjing.