China Eastern Airlines, the country’s third-largest carrier, plans to launch 29 weekly direct flights between nine mainland cities and Taipei from September. The services include 10 weekly flights from Shanghai and four from Nanjing, Shanghai Daily reported.

Nanjing International Airport said that more than 40,000 passengers had flown direct to Taipei since the service was initiated last July. China Eastern and Air China operate six scheduled weekly flights from the capital of Jiangsu povince. The journey takes only two hours, three times shorter than before when a transit flight via Hong Kong was needed.

Direct services between Chongqing and Taipei will increase from one flight a week to three flights a week from 1 September. The flights are scheduled to operate on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, leaving Chongqing at 3:10pm and returning from Taipei at 7:20pm, according to Chongqing Branch of Air China.