Although the launch of direct flights between Taipei’s Songshan Airport and Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport scheduled for today are expected to help boost Taipei City’s economy.
Taipei City Government has expressed high expectations that direct air links will provide closer connections and create more commercial opportunities for businesses on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
However, several taxi drivers working around Songshan Airport were less convinced about the benefits direct links would bring them.
PHOTO: CNA
One complained that even though there have been direct flights between Taiwan and China since July 2008, his business had not received a boost because Chinese tourists, who are still not allowed to travel alone, usually do not take taxis.
According to another, most Chinese tourists and businessmen are dropped off or picked up at the airport by relatives and friends or use the MRT system, adding that only those needing very short rides take taxis.
Another driver said there are 800 taxis operating around the airport, each of which making an average of just four or five trips per day, most of which cost about NT$100 each. The situation would not change much even after the direct flights are launched, he predicted.
Chen Ming-tsao (陳明灶), head of an airport taxi association, disagreed and said additional passengers would bring in more cash, especially as four more direct flights are to be added daily, each carrying between 180 and 200 passengers each.
Meanwhile, some passengers on the MRT’s Wenhu line linking Nangang, Neihu and Songshan, complained that the cars are too small.
A Taiwanese businessman operating in China said the line is convenient, but that the cars are too small for his luggage.
Others expressed concern that the line might not be able to handle the increased number of passengers between the two airports.
Chen Shih-hsiung (陳世雄), chief executive of a Taipei travel agency, said individual travelers are expected to benefit the most from direct air links.
Chen said that because Songshan Airport is only capable of accommodating medium-sized aircraft, such as the Boeing 738, which usually have 160 seats, travel agencies find it difficult to make block bookings for groups.
Songshan Airport maintains direct air links with seven Chinese cities and areas — Pudong, Fuzhou, Nanchang, Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing and Chengdu.
Also See: Songshan real estate taking off
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS