Taiwan Today

Taiwan has proposed revising aviation agreements with South Korea and mainland China to create a “golden circle” in Northeast Asia, Lee Long-wen, director-general of the Civil Aeronautics Administration under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, said Feb. 25. Lee said Taiwan hopes to add flights between Taipei Songshan Airport and Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport. At the end of October this year plans are to open three routes from Songshan to Tokyo Haneda Airport, Gimpo and Shanghai’s Hongqiao International Airport, thereby forming a Northeast Asian circuit especially advantageous for business travelers and backpackers. Songshan, Gimpo, Haneda and Hongqiao are all located in capital cities or important commercial districts and were once major international airports. Due to socioeconomic development and increasing numbers of high-rise buildings in their vicinities, it became difficult to expand their capacities. International airports, such as Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Incheon International Airport in South Korea, Narita International Airport in Japan and Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport were then constructed farther from city centers, and the urban airports were converted to primarily domestic service. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs said according to its understanding, negotiations are proceeding smoothly, with civil aeronautics heads from Taiwan and South Korea now hammering out details of the pact. The department said it would provide all necessary help in forming the “four golden corners” route among Songshan, Gimpo, Haneda and Hongqiao airports. It is hoped flights between Songshan and Gimpo can begin before the end of the year. As business travelers have ever-increasing demands for efficient transportation, Haneda, Hongqiao and Gimpo have in the last two years begun to develop short regional routes, to take full advantage of their roles as city airfields. In his election campaign in 2008 President Ma Ying-jeou also defined Songshan as part of Northeast Asian routes. However, as Songshan’s aviation and passenger facilities both still require upgrading, and aviation agreements must be revised, these routes have yet to be blazed. In 2009 the Taiwan-Japan aviation agreement was amended, successfully including the Songshan-Haneda route, which is scheduled to begin flights at the start of the winter season Oct. 31. It is estimated a single ticket will cost around NT$2,000 (US$62.4) more than a flight to Narita, but the traveler will save half of the time and cost of transportation from the airport to the city. Lee said aviation authorities from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are currently arranging for talks in March or April to increase the number of cross-strait flights and destinations, including the Songshan-Hongqiao route, which he hopes can begin by the end of October at the latest. “It would be even better if flights can take off before the Shanghai World Expo begins in May,” he added. (THN)