The view of Taipei Photo: VCG

Taiwan-based compatriots and businessmen are eagerly looking forward to the full resumption of direct cross-Straits flight destinations as soon as possible, a Chinese mainland official said, while urging the Taiwan authorities to promote relevant work to ensure smooth exchanges between both sides of the Straits.

In addition to the high hopes expressed by Taiwan compatriots and businessmen, cross-Straits airlines are now actively applying for resumption of direct flight destinations, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson with the Taiwan Affairs Office of State Council, told a press conference on Wednesday.

So far, the civil aviation regulator in the Chinese mainland has approved the summer and autumn flight plans of cross-Straits airlines. Those firms have arranged 794 passenger flights per week between the mainland and Taiwan, an increase of 26.63 percent year-on-year, according to Zhu.

The official urged that the Taiwan authorities take concrete actions to implement its plan for resuming direct cross-Straits flight destinations and provide convenience for Taiwan compatriots and business community in cross-Straits exchanges. 

There were originally 61 cross-Straits flight destinations in the mainland. After the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities on Taiwan Island unilaterally shut down most of them.

On February 1, the mainland aviation authorities urged the island to prioritize the resumption of direct flights to 16 mainland cities.

Authorities in Taiwan said earlier in March that direct flights to 10 mainland cities will resume, including Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu Province, Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province and Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, and there will also be chartered flights to 13 other mainland cities.

China Southern Airlines told the Global Times that it will resume flights between Shenzhen and Taipei starting from Friday and resume the flight between Guangzhou and Taipei from Saturday. After that, the airline's flights to and from Taipei will increase to 40 per week.

On March 26, Shenzhen Airlines and Taiwan's China Airlines resumed their flight services between Shenzhen and Taipei.

It is believed that with the gradual resumption of direct flight destinations which will promote the normalization of cross-Straits exchanges, economic and trade activities on both sides will continue to flourish.

Several business groups in Taiwan have made their visit plans to the Chinese mainland in April and May this year, meanwhile some regions in the mainland are also making preparations for events or fairs welcoming the participation of Taiwanese businessmen, according to Zhu.

For instance, Northwest China's Qinghai Province will hold the second cross-Straits Entrepreneurs' High-Quality Development Forum in April or May, and East China's Fujian Province is slated to launch the cross-Straits commodity fair in May.