Three cities pilot opening of transit for Chinese mainland tourists via Taichung — Taoyuan Airport, China Airlines, and EVA Air benefit the most

▲ Three mainland cities will pilot the opening of transit for Chinese mainland tourists via Taiwan. (Photo / Reporter Chen Shichang)

Reported by Lai Wenxuan / Taipei

The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council announced on the 5th the opening of transit for Chinese mainland tourists via Taiwan, under the premise of "implementing the outcomes of the cross-strait leaders' meeting,"starting with a pilot program in three cities: Chongqing, Nanchang, and Kunming. At that time, residents of mainland China will only need to hold a passport, flight ticket, and boarding pass for a third destination to transit through Taiwan Taoyuan Airport without leaving the airport.Taiwan’s airports and national airlines both believe that the opening could bring substantial economic benefits.

▲ The pilot opening of transit for Chinese mainland tourists will benefit Taoyuan Airport and national airlines the most. (Photo / Reporter Tsai Wenjun)

Due to the vast size and large population of mainland China, some city airports do not have direct flights to other countries, so travelers must first fly to airports with international flight connections to transfer. Opening transit for Chinese mainland tourists via Taiwan will allow mainland residents to fly from their regions to Taiwanese airports for layovers and then transfer without leaving the airport,with routes to the United States being particularly competitive, as Taiwan has numerous flights to the U.S., which can reduce transfer times.

In this pilot opening of the three mainland cities, Taoyuan Airport and national airlines such as China Airlines and EVA Air are expected to benefit the most, including consumption by Chinese mainland tourists in airport duty-free shops and their subsequent use of national airline flights for transit, which may generate economic benefits.

In response, EVA Air expressed optimism about the move. To implement the pilot transit program, the airline hopes to increase the number of flights from these three cities via Taoyuan Airport during the trial phase and also looks forward to expanding the program to other cities as soon as the trial proves successful, to maximize convenience for passengers. EVA Air highly commends the efforts and concrete measures taken by the governments on both sides of the strait.

▲ China Eastern Airlines currently operates flights from Nanchang to Taiwan. (Photo / Sourced from China Eastern Airlines Taiwan Facebook)

Currently, for the pilot opening of transit for Chinese mainland tourists, flights from Nanchang to Taiwan operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays as joint flights once daily by China Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, while Shenzhen Airlines operates one flight per week on Sundays. For Kunming, China Eastern Airlines flies to Taiwan on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and Sichuan Airlines flies to Taiwan on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. For Chongqing, there is a daily joint flight by Uni Air and Air China to Taiwan.