News
Breakthrough in China-Taiwan aviation policy
January 15th 2016
Beijing has released a proposal allowing Mainland passengers to transit through Taiwan on their way to third destinations, effective “soon”. The trial, available for flights departing Chongqing, Kunming and Nanchang, could pave the way for more development of Taiwanese aviation and strengthen cross strait relations. Read More » Boasting a combined population of more than 100 million, the cities are projected to boost Taipei Taoyuan International Airport’s traffic by 180,000 passengers this year.
Lin Chu-chia, deputy minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, said the breakthrough was a concrete result of an historic meeting in Singapore last November between pro-establishment Taiwanese president, Ma Ying-jeou, and Mainland leader, Xi Jinping.
“Interaction between Taipei and Beijing is on the up and up after the landmark meeting,” Lin said. “The trial builds upon this healthy state of affairs and follows a series of advances in bilateral ties over the last few months,” Lin continued. He added that if successful and approved for expansion, the program could boost the number of Mainland visitors transiting through Taoyuan to more than 500,000 a year.
However, just like the re-instatement of cross strait flights, full implementation of the transit scheme could be years away, and the status quo might change again if President Ma loses the Taiwanese national election tomorrow (January 16).
Taiwan’s long-haul carriers, China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways, welcomed the decision and said they would consider adding capacity to Chongqing, Kunming and Nanchang to feed passengers onto its destinations in Australia, Europe and North America.
Chinese government tourism statistics reveal there were 107 million outbound Chinese tourists in 2014, with 2.16 million of them heading to the U.S. This number is expected to grow to nearly six million in a decade. If a portion of them transit through Taiwan, it will provide enormous business opportunities, according to Taiwanese industry operators.
After the plan is fully implemented, it is expected to bring an annual NT$10 billion ($290 million) in benefits to Taiwan's airlines, they said.
