TAIPEI, Jan 28 (AP) -- Mainland Chinese jetliners are scheduled to begin touching down in Taiwanese airports on Saturday for the first time since a civil war split China and Taiwan 56 years ago.

China's airlines have been banned from flying to Taiwan since the Communists took over the mainland in 1949.

The Taiwanese have long worried that Chinese bombers and troop planes disguised as airliners might be used to attack the island, 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the mainland's southern coast.

But advances in radar technology and growing business ties between the two sides have made Taiwan's government and military more willing to relax the ban on nonstop flights.

"When trade with the mainland has become the lifeline of Taiwan, you must adjust your steps whether you like it or not," said Alexander Huang, a political science professor at Tamkang University.

"It's an option between riding on the mainland's boat of trade or sealing off this island," he said.

Thousands of Taiwanese travel to mainland China each year. They have become increasingly fed up with the current policy, which requires them to stop at a third point when flying to and from China.

The transit points usually are Hong Kong or Macau, former Western colonies that have been returned to Chinese sovereignty but are still considered distinct destinations. The stopover usually turns a trip that could take just a few hours into a daylong excursion.

The Chinese New Year flights, which last through Feb. 20, will be carrying Taiwanese businesspeople back home for the holiday, which begins Feb. 9.

The government estimates that 300,000 Taiwanese live and work on the mainland -- the destination for more than half of Taiwan's overseas investment.

The flights will have to pass through Hong Kong's airspace, but won't have to land before continuing to Taiwan.

Six Chinese airlines, including national flag carrier Air China, can fly the route. A total of 48 roundtrip flights will be allowed.

Six airlines from Taiwan will also make the flights between the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Taiwan's two biggest cities, Taipei and Kaohsiung.

Airports on both sides were ready to celebrate the landmark event with traditional dragon dances and red banners. Chinese airline officials told Taiwanese television that flight attendants would greet the passengers in the Taiwanese dialect and will serve them the island's popular snacks.

Many Taiwanese hope the flights could herald regular direct air and sea services.

But the Chinese New Year flights probably won't bring an immediate thaw in political relations. Beijing wants Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian to agree that the two sides belong to one country before they hold talks.

Chen has refused to commit to eventual unification, saying that only Taiwanese voters can determine the island's future.

But both sides recently showed flexibility and agreed to negotiate the New Year flights as a private deal between airline representatives. Barring formal dialogue, the model could be used to hammer out similar deals in the future, analysts said.

"If the atmosphere is good, there can be charter flights for religious pilgrimages, and there can even be weekly or daily charter flights," said Yen Chen-sheng, a researcher at the Institute for International Relations.

Taiwanese airlines also provided charter flights two years ago during the Chinese New Year, but the flights had to stop in Hong Kong and Macau when flying to and from China.

However, the flights were historic because it was the first time since 1949 that Taiwan allowed such flights to China. At the time, Taiwan didn't allow Chinese airlines to service the route.