Two Taiwan carriers yesterday flew through the mainland's
airspace.
The flights by Taiwan's two largest airlines came days after the
General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) approved
their applications to use mainland airspace on September 2. UNI
Airways and Mandarin Airlines were also given approval.
EVA Airways flight B-16412, carrying 368 passengers from Taipei
to Paris, became the first beneficiary of the new policy when it
flew over the mainland in the early hours of Monday morning. The
new route cuts flying time by about one hour. The airline estimated
that the shortened Taipei-Paris flight could cut costs by US$6
million a year.
The second flight was China Airlines flight CI 245 from Taipei
to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
This was not the first time the two airlines had flown through
mainland airspace. During the Iraq War in 2003, both airlines were
permitted to do so as an alternative to flying through the Middle
East.
However, the new policy is not a makeshift arrangement, but
rather will become regular practice.
According to sources with CAAC, EVA Airways has 40 flights per
week that are approved to fly through mainland airspace. China
Airlines was given approval for 70 flights, UNI Airways eight, and
Mandarin Airlines six.
Taiwan's airlines previously avoided mainland airspace on
flights to Europe and South Asia by passing either north over
Russia or south over Southeast Asia.
Taipei banned its carriers from flying over the mainland in 1949
because of security concerns.
(China Daily September 6, 2005)