China Airlines (CAL, 華航) is studying the feasibility of launching direct flights between Taiwan and Prague, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) yesterday told the legislature’s Transportation Committee.

Wang made the remarks in response to a question by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) about the ministry’s plan to stimulate the tourism sector as national borders are to reopen on Thursday next week.

While Taiwan offers direct flights to the UK and other destinations in western Europe, it has yet to offer direct flights to northern, central and east European countries, Hsu said.

“Taiwan and central and east European countries have grown closer in the past three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Taiwan donated masks to Europe and received vaccines donated by Lithuania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland,” Hsu added.

“Countries in eastern Europe were ruled by communists. Compared with their attitudes toward Russia and China, they have a better impression of Taiwan and think that Taiwanese are friendlier,” he said.

“Lawmakers from those countries have visited Taiwan as well, and vice versa. We should be able to launch more direct flight services to eastern Europe,” he said.

The government should consider offering direct flights to Sweden, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, he added.

Wang said flights to Prague could operate only if they have sufficient passengers.

Civil Aeronautics Administration Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said that Taiwan and the Czech Republic have signed a civil aviation pact.

However, airlines must take into account various factors before launching new flights, Lin said, adding that CAL is the only carrier that has been asked to evaluate the feasibility of direct flights between Taiwan and Prague.

“There are more Taiwanese tourists who want to visit eastern Europe than eastern European tourists who want to visit Taiwan. As such, it would be difficult for the airline to sustain a flight service without picking up connecting passengers along the flight route,” Lin said.

Wang told Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) that the Mainland Affairs Council and the National Security Council are discussing whether the “small three links” connecting Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China’s Fujian Province would be resumed when the borders reopen.

Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) told the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee that the Lunar New Year holiday next year might be a more appropriate time to resume the links.

“Even though the borders will soon be reopened, the Central Epidemic Command Center still limits the number of inbound travelers to 150,000 per week, which would in turn affect the number of inbound flights to Taiwan,” Chiu said when asked why he could only give a conservative estimate on the timeline.

The Chinese Communist Party’s attitude might also affect the timeline, Chiu said.

“They do not want to lose face and would prefer to keep things low profile. We have been working on some options, which might not work if we speak about them first. We will not reveal any details unless we make certain progress in this matter,” Chiu said.

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