Air links between Taiwan and the Philippines are to resume, following the signing of an agreement on 28 January. It ends a bitter dispute that grounded scheduled flights for four months.
China Airlines (CAL) will resume a full 24 flights a week service on 16 February, while EVA Air will restart daily flights on 12 February. Philippine Airlines will resume flights some time after 21 February. Dedicated cargo services will also recommence.
All scheduled flights between the two countries were banned at the start of October, after the Philippines accused Taiwan of violating a 1996 agreement by carrying passengers from Manila to Taipei and onward to the USA.
Taiwan appears to have won the dispute. The 1996 agreement, allowing 9,600 seats a week, was reinstated, with one difference: 4,800 must pass through the southern city of Kaohsiung. The Philippines believes this will prevent Filipinos from using Taiwan's carriers to fly through Taipei to the USA. Termination of the agreement is subject to 12 months' notice.
"The Philippines needs these flights more than Taiwan," says EVA deputy senior vice-president K W Nieh. The dispute cut off many Filipinos in Taiwan from direct air links , and the Philippines tourism industry has also been hit.
Traffic last November dropped 93%, compared with the previous November, says the Taiwan Tourism Bureau. Taiwanese travellers simply went elsewhere as traffic from Taiwan to Thailand rose18% in the same period, while traffic to Malaysia rose 21%, Hong Kong 28% and Macau 54%.
Source: Flight International
