China Airlines CAL , Taiwan’s largest carrier, announced Monday that it has launched direct flight services between southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung and Xiamen in China’s Fujian Province.The flights, which began that same day, are operated by Mandarin Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of CAL, providing one round trip flight per week.CAL also inaugurated direct flights between Taipei’s Songshan Airport and Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport June 14.

The carrier said that due to rising demand for cross-Taiwan Strait air links, it is planning to increase the number of flights to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the future.At present, CAL and Mandarin Airlines provide 61 direct flights to 14 destinations in China every week.