Taichung International Airport engaged with Nagoya International Airport on the 6th to form Sister Airports between the two. This made Taichung International Airport the first sister airport to Nagoya International Airport in Asia. The formation of this kind of bonding between these two airports is the result of the effort taken by the Taichung City Government for the promotion of tourism and international exchanges between the two cities after the “MOU on Tourism and Friendly Exchange” entered into, by and between, 7 counties and cities of Taiwan and the 12 prefectures along Shoryudo of Japan last year. The flights between these two cities will be upgraded to “3 flights per week” instead of an undetermined schedule as it was in the past. Another wave of international exchange is anticipated.

The formation of sister airports between Taichung International Airport and Nagoya International Airport is an important milestone for the internationalization of Taichung, said Mayor Lin Chia-Lung. He hopes that this move can help to attract more tourists to Taichung in addition to the exchange between central Taiwan and Japan. In addition, this will also compel Taichung International Airport to make further improvements in its facilities. Taichung is going to host the World Floral Expo next year and it is expected that millions of visitors by head count will be attracted to Taichung.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mayor Lin and Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communication Fan Chi-Ku, and completed by Director of Taichung Airport Chang Rai-Shu and President of Nagoya International Airport Corporation 友添雅直. Also present were Deputy Speaker Tsai Chi-Change of the Legislative Yuan, Legislator Yan Kuan-Heng, Taichung City Councilors Wang Li-Ren, Liu Shu-Lan, Yang Tian-Chung, You Pi-Ling, and representatives of regional unions and associations. The occasion was solemn but lively.

The 6th day is also the day for the first chartered flight linking the two cities of Taichung and Nagoya, according to Tourism and Travel Bureau. These two cities have launched the “unscheduled direct chartered flights” that flights will be arranged only when there is a demand. Passengers from both cities responded positively and hope there will be more flights commuting between the two cities. Around April and May in this years, there were 3 direct chartered flights commuting between the two cities arranged on a regular schedule. Adjustment will be made pending further assessment of the needs.

The population in central Taiwan is 7 million while that in central Japan symbolized by Nagoya is about 23 million. After the two airports became sister airports, the 30 million people in these two regions have been given more opportunities for exchange due to the convenience in traveling. Nagoya International Airport is a vital hub of transit in central Japan. It is expected that after the frequent flights linking these two cities, the visibility of Taichung in tourism could be improved. Likewise, CCK Airport can be upgraded to an authentic international airport, said Mayor Lin.

Taichung International Airport is in central Taiwan while Nagoya International Airport is in central Japan. The exchanges of visitors, goods, and services between the two airports will be inevitable for the development of both cities. In the future, Japan will give further support to this flight route and hope routine flights can be arranged for bolstering the two-way flows of passengers, said President友添雅直 of Nagoya International Airport Corporation.

In addition, Mayor Lin also expressed his gratitude to the endeavors of Deputy Speaker Tsai Chi-Change of the Legislative Yuan so that CCK Airport has been upgraded to an international airport. In the future, runways for civilian aviation will be assigned and development of the airport into a world-class international airport with the construction of a peripheral mass transit system could be materialized. With the joint effort between the central and the regional governments, this airport will really be an international airport that allows for the internationalization of Taichung and attraction of people from the world to Taichung.

The next step will be urging the Ministry of Transportation and Communication in launching the plan for the development of the airport as quickly as possible, mentioned Deputy Speaker Tsai Chi-Change of the Legislative Yuan. He also hopes that the joint effort between the central and regional governments, and between the government and the opposition parties, will cultivate Taichung International Airport as a gateway to central Taiwan and boost the local economy and tourist industry.

The Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communication firmly believes that the direct flights between Taichung and Nagoya will help to lay down a solid foundation for the exchanges between Taiwan and Japan. He endorsed the outcome of the policy of “from Taichung and to Taichung” pursued by the Taichung City Government. More flight routes have been developed with Taichung International Airport as the hub in the last two years, including the Taichung-Ho Chi Minh City route of Vietnam, and the 7 direct flights for the Taichung-Macao routes run by Tigerair Taiwan. The result is obvious.

According to the data from Tourism and Travel Bureau, the total population of central Taiwan and central Japan is about 30 million. Taichung continued to launch the sharing of tourist routes with central Japan and exchange of international topics since the entering into the agreement between central Taiwan and central Japan last year. There were 15 chartered flights between Taichung and Nagoya on a regular schedule that carried 3,949 passengers by head count. For the time being, there will be 16 chartered flights between the two cities until the end of May which can effectively help bring the people of the two cities together through tourist traveling. In the second half of the year, it is expected that the city will form a sister spots in hot springs with “Yuseong Hot Spring” in Korea. By then, the 3 famous hot springs of the three places could engage in cooperation in cross-border hot spring joint marketing among Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.

The Tourism and Travel Bureau also suggested that further efforts for international technology joint ventures will be made with upgrades of the service quality of the airport after the formation of sister airports with Japan. This will be essential for creating an amiable environment for tourism between Taiwan and Japan. With the joint effort of both sides, the promotion of chartered flights with regular schedules will be the first priority with a view to setting a regular timetable for the flights linking the two cities. More tourists from Japan will be attracted to Taichung under a viable tourist aviation network in the region.