Taipei - Taiwan and China plan to launch regular flights on August 31, ending the six-decade ban on air links imposed by Taipei at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said Monday. CAA said Taiwan and China signed an agreement on April 26 on opening regular flights.
Once the regular flights are launched, Taiwanese and Chinese airlines will operate 270 round-trip flights each week across the Taiwan Strait, up from the current 108 charter flights per week.
Taiwan and China have been split since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
For many years, Taiwan barred entry to Chinese residents and Taiwanese going to China had to change flights at a third place, usually Hong Kong. China still regards Taiwan a breakaway province.
As cross-strait tension began to thaw, Taiwan and China launched holiday charter flights in 2003, which was expanded to weekend charter flights in July 2008 and upgraded to daily charter flights in December.
The opening of regular flights is believed to be a milestone in cross-strait ties.
