Chinese tour groups that arrived on last weekend’s first cross-strait charter flights prepared to return home yesterday, but not before they spent a great deal of time and money checking in and paying for overweight baggage.
One group, scheduled to return to Nanjing from Taipei’s Songshan Airport yesterday afternoon, spent about 40 minutes at the counter checking in their overweight baggage before eventually boarding the flight on time.
Besides their luggage, each passenger carried cases of souvenirs and local desserts, such as pineapple cakes.
PHOTO: HSU MIN-JUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The group was scheduled to board the China Eastern Airlines flight and gathered at the counter of Uni Air, China Eastern’s local agent. The excessive load of luggage slowed down the check-in process.
“This is probably the worst airport I have ever seen!” a female passenger said. “Why do we have to weigh our luggage here and pay the overweight charge at the other side of the counter?”
Some passengers spoke with the Taipei Times while they waited to check in their luggage.
A woman surnamed Chao (趙) said that she had bought crystal glass and red coral as souvenirs.
She, however, was reluctant to disclose the amount she had spent buying souvenirs. She simply said “More than you think!”
A family surnamed Tu (杜) said they did not have enough time for sleeping and shopping.
When some of them were alerted that they may have problems with overweight luggage, one responded that “We can always pay!”
Ting Hai-yang (丁海洋), one of the team leaders, said that the entire group had 34 people. He estimated that they spent a total of 180,000 yuan while they were here, and that amount did not include the last-minute shopping spree at Taipei 101 and the Sogo Department Store.
Each Chinese tourist in the Nanjing group on average has pumped in approximately NT$60,000 into Taiwan’s economy when deducted the expenses on flight tickets.
In related news, flights traveling between northern Taiwan and Shanghai and Guangzhou are proving to be the most popular of the 36 nonstop charter flights scheduled for the third and fourth weekends of July, Taiwan’s aviation regulator announced on Friday.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said that on each of July’s final two weekends, 19 cross-strait charter flights will depart from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and 16 from Taipei Songshan Airport for various destinations in China.
Only one flight each week will head for China from Kaohsiung International Airport.
No flights will depart from other airports in Taiwan that were designated as gateways for the weekend charters because of weak demand.
Shanghai and Guangzhou airports were the most popular among the five Chinese airports authorized to handle the weekend charters, which were launched on July 4.
Additional reporting by CNA
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS