Jan 8, 2009, 10:13 GMT
Taipei - Taiwan plans to reopen its domestic Taipei Airport for international flights, eyeing Haneda Airport in Tokyo as the first possible target in a bid to promote tourism, aviation officials said Thursday.
'Relevant agencies from Taiwan and Japan will hold talks next month in Tokyo for the revision of the Taiwan-Japan aviation agreement, during which we will propose that the two sides launch flights between Taipei and Haneda airports,' said a senior official with the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA).
The official, who declined to be identified, said initially, Taiwan hopes to launch two round-trip flights every day between the two airports.
She said Haneda Airport is constructing a fourth runway, which will facilitate such flights after its completion by the end of 2010.
After Japan, Taipei Airport will also launch flights to other countries, she said.
Local travel agencies Thursday welcomed the plan, saying it would help increase holiday trips between Taipei and Tokyo, given the convenience between Taipei and Haneda airports.
'From Narita International Airport to downtown Tokyo, it takesabout 90 minutes, and from Taoyuan International Airport to downtown Taipei, it takes about 45 minutes. If there are flights between Taipei and Haneda airports, the time and cost spent would be saved at least by half,' said travel agent Liu Li-hsun.
Taipei and Haneda were international airports until the 1970s. Recently, Taiwan has permitted Chinese planes to land at Taipei Airport, considering them as the so-called 'cross-strait' flights instead of international flights. Japan has also used Haneda Airport for flights to South Korea and China.
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