Comment
China and Taiwan move closer to normalisation of aviation ties
April 1st 2014
Recent talks between Beijing and Taipei that indicate China might agree to making Taiwan a transit point for Chinese travelers destined for third countries will be the biggest step forward in Cross Strait aviation relations since scheduled flights were introduced in 2008. Read More »
Such a move would not only benefit Taiwan and its planned $16.5 billion Taoyuan International Airport Aerotropolis, but also mainland carriers. Airlines from Mainland China and Taiwan, already operating in a fast-growing market, believe freedom for travelers from any country to reach their final destination through any intermediate international port should be an integral part of Greater China’s skies.
Discussions between the two sides are expected to start in May, although a positive outcome is not guaranteed. China wants Taiwan to drop its insistence that flights can’t operate directly across the Strait, but must detour by way of the South China Sea, or East China Sea for security reasons.
The current policy costs airlines millions of dollars annually in extra fuel and other operating costs. While there are obvious and long standing political differences between the two sides, it is difficult to understand how a commercial air service flying in a straight line between Mainland China and Taiwan could be a security threat, or that this perceived threat can be alleviated by forcing the airline to add hundreds of kilometres to its journey.
However, if logic and recognition of market demand win out over politics and a transit point agreement is reached, it is estimated cross strait traffic could quickly increase by a third.
But there will be losers too. Hong Kong, Korea and Japan benefit from the no-transit rule as they are transit airports for millions of Chinese from secondary Chinese cities travelling on to the U.S., Europe, Australia and elsewhere.
If the transit ban was lifted, many of these travelers would fly via Taiwan, where they would be transiting through a country offering the familiarity of their own language – Putongha (Mandarin).
Political differences aside, it would be welcome news if China and Taiwan negotiators allow aviation commonsense to prevail and remove the transit ban. It is important not only for Taiwan and China, but for the entire region that cross strait air services are fully normalized.
