Airlines furious over Taiwan’s stance
Print Edition
CHINA Eastern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines yesterday said they had canceled 176 round-trip flights to Taiwan that had been added to their schedules to meet demand over the Spring Festival after a refusal by Taiwan authorities to approve the flights.
The Spring Festival is the most important family gathering festival in China. During the peak travel season, it is very difficult for passengers to book a ticket.
This is not the first year Xiamen Airlines and China Eastern Airlines have added extra flights to cope with the travel demand.
The airlines said in separate statements that they had no choice but to cancel the flights.
“We express our strong dissatisfaction and condemnation of the Taiwan authorities, who disregard public opinion and cling obstinately to their course,” China Eastern Airlines said.
The airline apologized to customers and said it was providing full refunds and rebookings for anyone booked on the now-canceled flights.
Xiamen Airlines urged “relevant Taiwan authorities to proceed from the standpoint of the well-being of people on both sides of the Strait, comply with popular wishes, meet the urgent needs of the people, and not artificially obstruct the return home of Taiwan compatriots.”
The carrier is based in Xiamen, Fujian Province, which faces Taiwan across the Strait.
Xiamen Airlines announced that it will fully refund or help with ticket changes for the 10,000-plus passengers affected by the cancelation of its 70 extra cross-Strait flights.
The company also expressed indignation toward Taiwan authorities for taking “the approval of the flights as a bargaining counter” and ignore the travel needs of people on both sides.
Since direct flights across the Taiwan Strait were opened in 2008, the airline has carried 4 million passengers on the route.
In a statement yesterday, China’s civil aviation administration said the island’s authorities bore sole responsibility for any consequences arising from the canceled flights. It said it had called on other airlines to help travelers make the journey.
Chen Kuangchung, a Taiwanese entrepreneur in Xiamen, said he was angry at the flight cancelation. He has taken the extra cross-Strait flights to return home for Spring Festival in previous years.
“Unable to buy an air ticket, I would have to travel by ship from Xiamen to Kinmen before taking a local airline to return to Taipei. The Taiwan aviation authority makes our trip home complicated,” he said.
Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines said among its passengers affected by the flight cancelation are Taiwanese business people, tourists and students.
The airlines said in its announcement that it had arranged the 106 extra flights to cope with the strong passenger demand despite its capacity restraint during the travel peak.
The number of the reserved tickets on the extra flights was 60 percent more than the amount at the same time of last year, to meet the traveling demand for 40,000 passengers.
Regular direct flights across the Strait have been available since July 2008, when Taiwan authorities lifted a partial ban on Chinese mainland tourists visiting Taiwan.
As the earliest Chinese mainland carrier to operate the direct flight service, China Eastern Airlines has operated 70,000 direct flights carrying 10 million passengers in the past decade.
However, the cross-Strait flight services do not meet increasing market demand against the backdrop of growing economic, cultural and personnel exchanges between the mainland and Taiwan.
The Taiwan aviation authority has cited concerns over the south-to-north operation of the M503 air route, which began operation on January 4, as its reason for the blocking of extra cross-Strait flights for the Spring Festival, but the Chinese mainland has said no safety concerns are involved.
The south-to-north operation of the M503 flight route is located close to the mainland in the Taiwan Strait and in the Shanghai Flight Information Region, according to the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
The north-to-south operation of the M503 flight route started in March 2015 and has run smoothly. Most airlines from Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia fly via this route.
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