SHENZHEN Airlines is expected to operate two direct flights a week to Taiwan starting from Dec. 15, according to an announcement by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Wednesday.

Although the timetable had not been decided, the flights would most likely start from Shenzhen because the aviation administration, in principle, had allowed Shenzhen Airlines to choose from the 16 cities to operate direct flights, according to officials with Shenzhen Airlines.

¡°Shenzhen is the first choice of Shenzhen Airlines for direct flights because the city along with neighboring Huizhou and Dongguan has more than 200,000 Taiwanese working and living in the region,¡± Liu Han, a public relations manager of Shenzhen Airlines, said Thursday.

According to a direct flight program released by the CAAC, Sichuan and Shandong airlines were also added as new carriers for the direct flights.

The two airlines will each make two direct flights to Taiwan, bringing the total number of flights to the island to 54 a week if the flights by the other six airlines are included.

China Cargo Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Air China Cargo will conduct cargo services between the mainland and Taiwan, CAAC officials said. The three cargo airlines will conduct 30 flights a month from Shanghai and Guangzhou.