China Airlines, Taiwan’s largest carrier, is to start all-cargo flight services between Taoyuan airport, situated about 40km from downtown Taipei, and the mainland cities of Xiamen, Nanjing and Fuzhou to meet rising demand from China.

The weekly all-cargo flight between Taiwan and Xiamen in Fujian province started on 4 September and the one to Nanjing in Jiangsu province will begin on 11 September, the company said.

The carrier will also begin twice-weekly services to Fuzhou, also in Fujian province before the end of September, and two more flights are planned to unspecified destinations in the future.

The Boeing 747-400F aircraft that CAL will use on the routes will transport mainly electronic appliances, textile products and shoes, the company said.

Ranked by the International Air Transport Association as one of the world’s 10 biggest international cargo carriers, CAL currently operates cargo flights to Shanghai four times a week and to Guangzhou twice a week.

Taiwan and the mainland opened direct air cargo links in August 2009, and the mainland now accounts for 10 per cent of CAL’s total cargo shipments.