The first chartered cargo flights between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan will begin this evening.

 

A Boeing 747-400 cargo plane, operated by Taiwan-based China Airlines, takes off from Taoyuan Airport in Taipei at 10:00 PM tonight and arrives at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai at 1:00 AM on Thursday.

 

The mainland-based Cross-Straits Aviation Transport Exchange Council and the Taipei Airlines Association agreed on a framework for chartered flights for festivals and special cases on June 14.

 

The five chartered cargo flights will carry equipment, parts and components to be used in Taiwan-invested factories on the mainland.

 

Chartered flights will run during Qingming, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn?festivals as well as the Spring Festival season, according to the agreement.

 

The two sides also agreed to open chartered flights for emergency medical purposes and first aid for the disabled alongside the cargo services. ?

 

Air cargo from Taiwan is usually first transported to Hong Kong and then carried to Shanghai by the Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines or the Hong Kong-based Dragonair, which was taken over by Cathay Pacific this June.

 

It's believed the operation of chartered cargo flights will help slash transport costs and promote trade and economic cooperation across the Taiwan Straits.

 

Some analysts believe the start of chartered flights for festivals and cargo services could be a big step toward Taiwan lifting a five-decade ban on regular air links across the Straits. Cross-straits chartered flights with stopovers in Hong Kong or Macao began during the Spring Festival of 2003.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2006)