In this Sept 10, 2020 photo, a plane of SF Airlines Co, Ltd takes off from Bao'an International Airport in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Shenzhen in Guangdong province will resume direct flights to Taipei in southeastern China’s Taiwan on March 26, with more cities on the Chinese mainland doing likewise after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

According to the Shenzhen Municipal Transport Bureau, there will be 21 direct flights each week between the two cities, operated by Shenzhen Airlines, China Southern Airlines, China Airlines and UNI Air.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, only four Chinese cities had direct flights between the mainland and Taiwan

Shenzhen Airlines’ first flight to Taipei will take off at 9:25 am on March 26 and arrive in Taipei in two hours. The airline plans to operate one flight daily. Passengers will still need to produce a negative nucleic acid test taken within 48 hours before departure.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, only four Chinese cities had direct flights between the mainland and Taiwan. 

As the pandemic subsided, the authorities in Taiwan said earlier this month direct flights to 10 mainland cities would resume. They include Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing and Hangzhou, and there’ll also be chartered flights to 13 other mainland cities.

The resumption of direct flights to Taiwan will go a long way in accelerating business and social exchanges between the island and the mainland. However, visa applications by individual travelers and tour groups have yet to resume.

Travel restrictions for visitors from the Hong Kong and Macao SARs to Taiwan have been lifted since February this year.

Contact the writer at grace@chinadailyhk.com