Source: CCTV.com

07-04-2008 14:58

The first flight from the mainland to Taiwan took off from Guangzhou in Southern Guangdong Province at 6:30 am local time marking the start of the much-anticipated weekend chartered flights.

A woman holding her baby waits for boarding a plane at Gaoqi International Airport in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast China's Fujian Province, June 5, 2008. Xiamen Airlines' Flight MF881 carrying 167 passengers flew from Xiamen to Taipei in southeast China's Taiwan Province on June 5, kicking off the charter flights across the Taiwan Straits for the Chinese traditional Duanwu Festival, or the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on June 8 this year.(Xinhua/Jiang Kehong File Photo)
A woman holding her baby waits for boarding a plane at Gaoqi
International Airport in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast
China's Fujian Province, June 5, 2008. Xiamen Airlines' Flight
MF881 carrying 167 passengers flew from Xiamen to Taipei in
southeast China's Taiwan Province on June 5, kicking off the
charter flights across the Taiwan Straits for the Chinese 
traditional Duanwu Festival, or the Dragon Boat Festival, 
which falls on June 8 this year.(Xinhua/Jiang Kehong File Photo)

And it's already touched down the flight operated by China Southern Airlines arrived in Taipei at ten-past-eight in the morning. Six airlines from the mainland and five from Taiwan will run 18 return flights on Friday.

The first flight from Taiwan to the mainland took off from Taoyuan Airport near Taipei at half-past-three Friday morning. The flight, operated by Taiwan-based Mandarin Airlines, was headed for Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu Province.