The Civil Aeronautics Administration continues to discuss cross-strait flight issues with its Chinese counterpart and hopes that negotiations can resume by the end of the month. Meanwhile, the Straits Exchange Foundation is ready to step if necessary.

Songshan-Qingdao flights were supposed to start flying at the end of this month, but cross-strait negotiations have hit a snag and travel agencies have their hands full re-routing tickets that have already been sold.

Taiwan had hoped that 50 new cross-strait flights could be added to existing schedules in August, but this now seems unlikely.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration has cancelled 31 new cross-strait routes operated by Chinese carriers,

and says that recent talks broke down after China requested a new clause that would prevent airlines from adjusting destinations and schedules.

China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits is ready for additional talks, but Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications is "not overly optimistic" about future negotiations.

As China is willing to put off talks until October, frequent travelers may have to continue dealing with a short supply of tickets on popular routes.