Air tickets for 20 chartered flights between Beijing and Taiwan during the oncoming Spring Festival holiday season were sold out by Sunday night, airlines said yesterday.

The occupancy of Air China's chartered flights had risen from 80 percent last year to 100 percent, said Air China President Li Jiaxiang.

Air China and Hainan Airlines will operate chartered flights between Beijing and Taiwan between January 25 and February 5.

The lifting of a restriction on passengers' status is the main cause of the quick sales of air tickets, industry observers say.

Li predicted that, if "three direct links" -- direct mail, transport and trade -- were established across the Taiwan Straits, traffic volume between the mainland and Taiwan would reach five million passengers per year, generating five billion yuan (about US$625 million) revenue for airline companies.

The Spring Festival, the Chinese Lunar New Year, is the most important occasion for family reunions. The 2006 Spring Festival will start on January 29.

Six mainland airlines have been chosen to operate chartered flights across the Taiwan Straits from January 20 to February 13, 2006, while another six Taiwan-based airline companies last month announced their plans for direct chartered flights across the Taiwan Straits during the Spring Festival.

(Eastday.com January 18, 2006)