Carrying 201 and 198 passengers on board respectively, the two flights left Xiamen at 8:00 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. as scheduled. Both flights, fully occupied by Taiwan business people and their relatives working and living in Fujian, arrived in Taipei and Kaohsiung respectively at around 9:30 a.m., according to local airport sources.

A ceremony was held at the Xiamen airport to mark the beginning of the Xiamen-Taiwan chartered non-stop flights across the Taiwan Straits early Wednesday morning.

Taiwan business people working in Fujian had warmly welcomed the launch of the flights, saying that such flights have shortenedtheir journey back home and would bring happiness and benefits to the Taiwan people.

"We feel honored to carry out the flights from Xiamen to Taipei and Kaohsiung, a mission we have prepared for more than 20 years,"said Yang Guanghua, general manager of the Xiamen Airways.

Yang expressed the hope that normal and regular direct flights between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits will begin at an earlydate, so that the Xiamen Airways could serve more Taiwan passengers shuttling across the Straits.

"We believe that cross-Straits flights will improve next year with the concerted efforts of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits," said Zheng Lizhong, deputy head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, China's cabinet.

The cross-Straits chartered non-stop flights for the upcoming 2006 Spring Festival, or the Chinese lunar new year falling on Jan. 29, consist of 72 round trips in total. Mainland airlines and Taiwan airlines will take 36 round flights respectively, according to a consensus reached by the civil aviation associations across the Straits.

Six mainland airlines have been chosen to operate chartered non-stop flights across the Taiwan Straits from Jan. 20 to Feb. 13, while six Taiwan-based airline companies last month also announced their plans for such special flights. Enditem