The inaugural flight marking the first direct flights between China and Taiwan took off today, 4 July.

The inaugural flight between China and Taiwan left Guangzhou Balyun International airport at 7am this morning (4 July) – the first time in almost 60 years that passengers have been able to fly directly between the two countries.

The first direct flight was carried out by China Southern, the largest carrier in mainland China, which had signed an agreement in June with China Airlines, the biggest airline company in Taiwan, to provide direct flights across the Taiwan Straits.

Mandarin Airlines is another airline to now fly direct between both countries. It also launched a direct weekend charter flight programme for July between Taiwan and Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou today. Previously, flights would have had to fly via a third destination.

Speaking at the time of the memorandum signing between China Southern and China Airlines, Mr Liu Shoyong, Chairman of China Southern, signalled that the new service would lead to “better communication between the compatriots” and would “complement the resources of both airlines, and help them seize the opportunities in the market, grow faster and realise a win-win situation.”