Additional daily passenger charter flights between
China and Japan
will commence in October, civil aviation officials announced
yesterday.
The flights will operate between Tokyo's Haneda airport and
Shanghai's Hongqiao airport.
Yang Yuanqing, deputy director of the General Administration of
Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), and Japan's Land, Infrastructure
and Transport Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba signed the agreement on
the flights yesterday.
There are to be two exchange flights between Haneda airport and
Hongqiao airport every day.
"This represents great progress for Sino-Japan aerial
relations," Fuyushiba said.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of
bilateral relations between Japan and China.
The agreement follows Premier Wen Jiabao's "ice-melting" visit
to Japan in April.
Two Japanese carriers, ANA Sky and Japan Airlines, and a
yet-to-be-announced Chinese carrier will service the route.
"Most of the passengers are traveling on business," Wang, a
representative of ANA Sky's business department, said.
The move is also expected to spur the tourism industry, with
some five million exchanges seen this year.
Shanghai's Hongqiao airport became a domestic airport when
Pudong airport was finished in 1999. However, it will run
international charter flights specifically for this route.
"It is only 13 km from the center of the city, which is
convenient for visitors," Liang Nan, deputy director of CAAC's
foreign affairs office, said.
Haneda airport is a major airport and is only 16 km from the
center of Tokyo. It is also a domestic airport.
These airports, and Seoul's Kimpo airport, will service what has
been dubbed the "golden triangle" of business exchanges between the
three cities.
"China plans to operate fights between Seoul's Kimpo airport and
Shanghai's Hongqiao airport by the end of this year," Liang
said.
(China Daily June 26, 2007)
