The General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) has set the schedule for charter flights between Taiwan and the mainland for the coming Qingming Festival, or the tomb-sweeping festival.

They will be the first cross-Strait charter flights for Qingming, an occasion for Chinese people to pay homage to their ancestors and deceased relatives, which falls on April 5 or 6.

Eleven airlines from the mainland and Taiwan will fly 42 round trips, mainly on March 30, 31, April 3, 4, 7 and 8, according to the schedule.

The mainland airports in the program are Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen, while the airports in Taiwan are Taipei and Kaohsiung.

The airlines were already selling tickets, according to CAAC.

The first non-stop charter flights across the Taiwan Strait were launched during the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2005. Prior to then, there were no direct air links across for more than five decades.

Aviation organizations of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan last year agreed to begin charter flights for more traditional festivals in addition to the Spring Festival.

Cross-Strait charter flights will also be available during the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month or June 19, and the Mid-Autumn Festival which falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, or September 25.

The Chinese government has called for regular cross-Strait charter flights that extend beyond festival periods.

Ninety-six round-trip direct charter flights were made during mid-February's Spring Festival, but the number of passengers during the festival this year has not been released.

Mainland and Taiwanese airlines operated 72 non-stop charter flights during the Spring Festival in 2006, carrying 27,000 passengers. The previous year, 5,877 people took Spring Festival flights.

Editor: Donald