Direct flights between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport are now available. Passengers waited for 31 years to once again enjoy greater convenience and shorter transportation time.

The Minister of Transportation and Communications also expressed hope to see direct routes to South Korea's Gimpo Airport in the near future.

It was 31 years ago, Taipei's Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport last offered direct flights.

When the air link is resumed now, EVA air operated the first service, brining 245 passengers to Haneda at 7:30 in the morning.

For those living in Taipei, they don't have to leave home early in the morning to get to Taoyuan.

It only takes some people 15 minutes to travel from their home to the airport.

When Premier Wu Den-yih presided over the joint opening ceremony of four airliners of Taiwan and Japan, he said that the air link means a closer interaction with four capitals of northeast asian countries.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-guo hopes to see the launch of direct link with Seoul's Gimpo airport as soon as possible.

After the first flight took off, the first flight coming from Haneda, operated by China Airlines, arrived at 9:45 in the morning, which was almost full.

Few minutes after the airplane landed, passengers got their luggages and left the airport in no time.

It is a whole new experience for frequent travelers between Taipei and Tokyo as they don't have to take a long ride to and from Taoyuan.

All four carriers - China Airlines, EVA Airways, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways - would operate the eight daily flights between Songshan and Haneda, which makes travelling bewteen the two cities much easier and convenient.