The Chinese mainland and Taiwan will add more terminals and flights to cope with increasing demand of travelers during the Chinese New Year, said a mainland official Wednesday.

Taiyuan, Changchun, Nanning and Yantai would be added as regular cross-Strait terminals in the mainland, said Fan Liqing, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a regular press conference.

This would increase the number of mainland terminals to 31, she said.

The number of flights would also increase from 270 weekly. From January 31 to February 28, at least 44 flights would be added weekly between the four mainland terminals of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Taiwan terminals, she said.

"At the other terminals, the airline companies can decide how many to be added," Fan said.

But at most 12 flights would be added at SonShan Airport in Taipei, she said.

The mainland and Taiwan began direct air and sea transport links and postal services on December 15 last year. Previously, air and sea connections, including mail, were routed through a third location, usually Hong Kong.

On November 4, 2008, the mainland and Taiwan agreed to launch regular passenger charter flights across the Taiwan Strait. Before that, flights were only offered on weekends and during the country's four major traditional festivals -- the Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Fan said cross-Strait flights carried about 2.6 million passengers and 46,000 tonnes of cargo from July last year to October this year.

"About 70 percent of seats at passenger flights were sold on average," she said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2009)