Mainland carrier Loong Air inaugurated a twice-weekly flight between Chengdu Tianfu International Airport and Taichung International Airport on 28 July, marking the airline’s first scheduled cross-strait route. Flight GJ8301 departs Chengdu every Tuesday and Saturday at 11:10, arriving in Taichung at 14:25; the return leg leaves Taichung at 15:25 and lands in Chengdu at 19:00. Although charter flights have linked secondary Chinese cities with Taiwan for years, the new service represents a rare expansion of scheduled capacity at a time when cross-strait aviation rights remain politically sensitive. The route adds Western China’s burgeoning tech and consumer markets to Taichung’s network, which already connects to Nanjing and Qingdao. For mainland corporates with factories in central Taiwan—and for Taichung-based SMEs sourcing components from Sichuan’s electronics corridor—the four-hour nonstop cuts travel time by half a day compared with transfers in Xiamen or Hong Kong. Tourism authorities on both sides expect a modest uptick in leisure traffic, citing Chengdu’s panda research base and Sichuan cuisine as key draws for Taiwanese visitors, while Taichung pitches its night markets and cycling trails to mainland millennials. Loong Air says it will evaluate adding Thursday frequencies if load factors exceed 75 percent during the October peak. The airline also plans to codeshare with Sichuan Airlines to offer through-ticketing from Taichung to Lhasa and Urumqi, leveraging Chengdu’s domestic hub status. Travel managers should note that passengers still require the relevant Mainland Travel Permit (for Taiwan residents) or Taiwan Entry Permit (for PRC residents) in addition to health declarations. Fares start at RMB 1,280 one-way incl. taxes, with promotional bundles for trade-fair delegates headed to Western China.
