Starting yesterday, travellers in 13 mainland cities can take Shenzhen Airlines to Shenzhen, then take an Air Macao flight from there to Macao. From Macao, they can take another flight to Taiwan and return to the mainland the same way.

"Travellers can check in just once and need not worry about their luggage. The price is attractive also; a ticket may be 30 to 50 per cent lower than for a journey from a mainland city to Taiwan with one stop in Hong Kong or Macao," said Li Kun, the general manager of Shenzhen Airlines.

Previously, travellers on the mainland must fly to Hong Kong or Macao first, then take another flight to Taiwan. This means they have to check in twice, with their luggage transferred twice.

The 13 mainland cities are Beijing, Shanghai, Wuxi, Nanning, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Guiyang, Chongqing, Shenyang, Chengdu, Wuhan, Xi'an and Kunming.

The plan is expected to eventually benefit other mainland destinations connecting with Shenzhen, Li said.

Injured tourists back in Taiwan

Meanwhile, also yesterday, a Taiwan chartered plane carried 14 Taiwanese tourists injured in a bus accident in Northeast China's Jilin Province back to Taiwan.

It was the second cross-Straits direct charter flight between the mainland and Taiwan for emergency medical treatment.

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