China Southern Airlines (CSA) and two Taiwan airlines flew six charter flights carrying 698 passengers between Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, and Taipei, Saturday.

A source with the China Southern Airlines said that 566 passengers flew from Guangzhou to Taipei. An additional 132 passengers flew from Taipei to Guangzhou.

The CZ3097 flight of CSA departed Guangzhou at 10:00 a.m. (Beijing Time) and landed at Taipei at 11:27 a.m. The CZ3098 flight of CSA departed Taipei 12:59 and arrived at Guangzhou at 2:38 p.m.

The other four flights were run by Taiwan's Far East Air Transport and China Airlines.

The source with CSA said that 90 percent of the seats were sold for the Feb. 7 and Feb. 15 flights.

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan civil aviation professionals decided to operate the charter flights specially for the traditional Chinese Spring Festival earlier last month in Macao. The two sides agreed to run the flights from Jan. 29 to Feb. 20 between mainland cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and Taiwan's Taipei and Kaohsiung.

According to a schedule publicized by the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), there will be a total of 34 charter flights before the start of the traditional Spring Festival, which falls on next Wednesday.

For years, the nation's transportation system has been strained during the season, as tens of millions of migrant workers and other Chinese flock back home and then return two weeks later.

(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2005)