Shanghai Quells Worries over Cancellation of Cross-Strait Charter Flights
Xinhua | Feb. 04, 2008
A senior Shanghai official has quelled any worries that the pressure-laden Pudong International Airport would cancel some scheduled cross-strait charter flights due to the lingering snow.
"Shanghai will not cancel any cross-strait flights, as long as the weather allows safe departure," said Shanghai Vice Mayor Tang Dengjie when meeting with delegates of Taiwan compatriots working in the city on Feb. 3.
Many of Taiwan compatriots were worried charter flights would be cancelled by airports on China's mainland. The airports have been heavily pressured by delayed flights and stranded passengers as the worst snow in decades continues to ravage many of the country's eastern and southern regions.
Shanghai is the busiest port for cross-strait charters among the four designated mainland cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou and Xiamen. It will handle 24 round-trip charters for the Spring Festival, which features family reunions by people on both sides of the Strait.
Since this year's first cross-strait charter took off from snow-covered Pudong Airport on Feb. 2, the airport has seen seven round-trip flights between Shanghai and Taiwan.
The airport has also given priority to planes on charter flights in both de-icing and departure.
On Feb. 4, two fully-loaded Xiamen Airlines' planes departed on schedule in the morning from Gaoqi International Airport in Xiamen, Fujian Province, taking home Taiwan compatriots to Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan.