And all preparations for the flights are on track, officials say.

Xia Xinghua, director-general of the East China Regional Administration of Civil Aviation of China, said: "We have organized a special team which is responsible for the safety and co-ordination work concerning the 16 flights."

According to the Shanghai Taiwan Business Association, over 1,100 of the more than 1,600 tickets have already been sold.

The flights will run between January 26 and February 10 to cater for the annual festival demand.

The indirect charters have to land at Hong Kong and Macao.

The charter flight stopovers in Hong Kong, for example, will last for 50 minutes and passengers will not have to change planes.

The usual method of most Taiwanese business people returning home is to take other commercial carriers like Shanghai Airlines or Dragonair to Hong Kong, where they have to disembark for between 45 minutes and two hours, and then switch planes and continue to Taiwan.

Xia said China Eastern Airlines will provide ground services in Shanghai for four of the Taiwanese carriers - China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, EVA Airways and UNI Airways - and Shanghai Airlines will be responsible for Far East Airlines and Transasia Airway.

In addition, the mainland's aviation administration group has arranged for the use of five backup airports at Shanghai Hongqiao, Nanjing, Hefei and Hangzhou in case the flights cannot land at Pudong Airport due to bad weather or emergencies.

Shanghai Customs have also put forward plans to offer better services to the Taiwan business people returning home on the chartered flights.

According to Li Shanfen, the head of Pudong Airport Customs, extra staff have been assigned to enhance the efficiency of customs.

Officials from Shanghai's Taiwan Affairs Office said signs are being made to guide the Taiwanese travellers through Pudong Airport to their planes.

Officials at the press office of the Taiwan affairs office are also engaged in preparations to aid reporters from all over the world who are expected to report the arrival of the first charter flight on January 26.

The Shanghai Taiwan Business Association is releasing the latest information about the 16 flights and helping Taiwanese people book tickets free of charge.

(China Daily January 22, 2003)