China flights on horizon

This article was written by Chen Ting and published by the Taiwan Journal on August 26, 2005.

On August 3, the government in Taiwan announced that it would lift the ban on direct flight across the Taiwan Strait. This means that Taiwanese aircrafts would be able to fly over China and therefore greatly reduce the amount of time and cost involved.

On August 15, the Executive Yuan finalized a regulatory framework for assessing applications from domestic airlines that would like to conduct such direct flights. Local airlines, including China Airlines, Eva Air, Mandarin Airlines and Uni Air, began to submit requests for permission to fly over China's airspace on the following day. Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan has also asked the Taipei Airlines Association to open negotiations with China's Civil Aeronautics Administration on issues involved.

It is reported that Taiwan has received a positive response from Beijing regarding the proposal. But Chinese officials said that negotiations on specific routes requested by Taiwanese airlines would be required. So far Taiwanese airlines have submitted applications for about 100 flights over 18 routes.

China Airlines estimated that flying over China's airspace could cut costs by as much as US$8 million per year. Eva Air expects to save more than US$3 million per year.