Society

Direct Taiyuan-Taipei charter flight kicks off

By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-02-10 17:41
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The Spring Festival direct charter service between Taiyuan of Shanxi province and Taipei started Wednesday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Flight MU 5011 of China Eastern Airlines, a Boeing 737 aircraft with 130 passengers on board, took off Wednesday morning from Wusu Airport of Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province and landed in Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport.

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This is the first direct flight between Shanxi and Taiwan.

It cuts the travel time to less than 3 hours from the previous 6-7 hours, Xinhua said.

"All together 12 flights will be operated between the two cities on each Wednesday and Sunday until February 28," Liu Tao, a staff member of China Eastern told Xinhua.

Senior local officials including Governor Wang Jun attended a ceremony before the flight, China News Service's website reported.

Most of the 130 passengers on board the plane are mainland tourists for Taiwan, according to the report.
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