Mainland's adjustment to Straits flight route serves aviation safety(2)

Rightful, proper move

Since the mainland opened the M503 flight path in March 2015, the route from north to south has run smoothly. Most airlines from Hong Kong, Macao and Southeast Asia fly this route, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Before this, more than 1,200 flights per day using this airspace had to rely on the saturated A470 flight path, causing serious congestion and delays, with an average on-schedule rate of only 46 percent. This poses safety risks.

In 2015, cross-Straits relations were smooth under the political basis of the 1992 Consensus, so the mainland agreed to a deviation in the route setting of M503, which was due to the mainland's kindness, said Ni Yongjie, director of the Shanghai Institute of Taiwan Studies.

More than eight years have passed and demand for international and cross-Straits flights is increasing, especially considering the huge demand for flights during the upcoming Spring Festival holidays, so the mainland decided to make air route adjustments, Ni said.

According to spokesperson Chen Binhua, airlines on both sides of the Taiwan Straits can schedule no more than 890 passenger flights per week between 61 destinations on the mainland and 10 destinations on the island of Taiwan. Although the number of direct flights across the Taiwan Straits have increased compared with the COVID period, due to the limited flight points, cross-Straits exchanges are still inconvenient.

The mainland has been preparing for the full resumption of cross-Straits air routes. The DPP authorities should remove unreasonable restrictions on cross-Straits air transport as soon as possible to meet the travel needs of people on both sides of the Straits, especially the people in Taiwan, Chen said.

Some observers in Taiwan believe that the adjustment, especially the activation of the connecting routes W121 and W122, will serve to reduce costs and flight times, as flights from Xiamen and Fuzhou will no longer need to detour along the northern route.

This is an adjustment under the one-China principle, within the scope of China's sovereignty and out of the need for civil aviation safety and convenience, and it is absolutely rightful and proper, Li Zhenguang, deputy director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies under Beijing Union University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

In 2015, the mainland and Taiwan island could accommodate each other's feelings through negotiations, but since the DPP came to power in 2016, the common political foundation has been destroyed by the DPP. It chose to confront the mainland without showing any kindness, Li said. "Therefore, the mainland has to adjust its policies according to its own needs," he said.

In the long run, the adjustment of air routes is also to meet the needs of compatriots on both sides of the Straits, to meet the needs of economic development on both sides of the Straits. It will enhance the interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, and it will inject positive energy for cross-Straits relations, Ni said.