A senior Shanghai official has quelled any worries that the pressure-laden Pudong International Airport would cancel some scheduled cross-Straits charter flights due to the lingering snow.

"Shanghai will not cancel any cross-Straits flights, as long as the weather allows safe departure," said Shanghai Vice Mayor Tang Dengjie when meeting with delegates of Taiwan compatriots working in the city on Sunday.

Many of Taiwan compatriots were worried charter flights would be cancelled by airports on China's mainland. The airports have been heavily pressured by delayed flights and stranded passengers as the worst snow in decades continues to ravage many of the country's eastern and southern regions.

Shanghai is the busiest port for cross-Straits charters among the four designated mainland cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou and Xiamen. It will handle 24 round-trip charters for the Spring Festival, which features family reunions by people on both sides of the Straits.

Since this year's first cross-Strait charter took off from snow-covered Pudong Airport on Saturday morning, the airport has seen seven round-trip flights between Shanghai and Taiwan.

The airport has also given priority to planes on charter flights in both de-icing and departure.

Two fully-loaded Xiamen Airline planes departed on schedule on Monday morning from Gaoqi International Airport in Xiamen, Fujian Province, taking home Taiwan compatriots to Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan.

(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2008)