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The Air Services Arrangement between Hong Kong and Taiwan was signed in Hong Kong today (December 30) and came into immediate effect. The Arrangement was signed by representatives of the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council (ECCPC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council (THEC) who had been duly authorised by the relevant authorities of the two sides.
The ECCPC and the THEC held their first joint meeting in Taipei in August last year. Both sides supported that the two places would continue to explore measures to enhance the transport services between Hong Kong and Taiwan, including actively updating the air services arrangements between the two places. The Arrangement, being the first signed by the ECCPC and the THEC since their establishment, underlines the significance of air services between Hong Kong and Taiwan, and is a milestone in the two sides' civil aviation development.
On the basis of the existing air services, the Arrangement provides more room for promoting the development of the air services between Hong Kong and Taiwan. Its key points include:
(1) The Arrangement sets no limits on the number of airlines to be designated by both sides so that new airlines can enter the market;
(2) Regarding passenger and cargo capacities between Hong Kong and Taipei/Kaohsiung, the two sides have agreed that in addition to the existing passenger and cargo capacities of 170 flights and 1,700 tonnes per week respectively for each side, the passenger capacity will be increased by 28 flights per week for each side with immediate effect, and another seven flights per week for each side with effect from the 2012 International Air Transport Association (IATA) summer schedule, while the cargo capacity will be increased by 1,100 tonnes per week for each side with immediate effect, and another 200 tonnes per week for each side with effect from the 2012 IATA summer schedule;
(3) Special chartered flights are allowed between Hong Kong and points in Taiwan including Taichung, Hualien, Taitung, Magong, Kinmen and Tainan and each side may operate a maximum of 28 flights per week on each route mentioned above; and
(4) Airlines of both sides may enter into code-sharing arrangements with airlines of the same side or the other side on routes between Hong Kong and Taiwan or between points in Taiwan.
Welcoming the new Arrangement, the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, said that the Arrangement would provide room for the air services between Hong Kong and Taiwan to develop, and enable more airlines to provide more passenger and cargo services between the two places, with more destinations and more choices for passengers. She added that the new Arrangement would not only benefit the development of the aviation, freight and tourism industries of the two places and strengthen Hong Kong's position as an international and regional aviation hub, but also promote further exchange and co-operation between Hong Kong and Taiwan, taking bilateral relations to a new level.
Ends/Friday, December 30, 2011
Issued at HKT 12:48
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