The weekend charter flights across the Taiwan Strait have carried more than 160,000 people since they began on Jul. 4, according to figures from the Taiwan authorities.

Over the 12 weekends till Sep. 22, they carried an average of 12,000 people each week, with an average occupancy rate of 85.6 percent.

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan agreed in June to begin the weekend charter flights, which had previously operated only at major festivals.

So far, eight airports in Taiwan and five in the mainland have been opened for 18 weekend flights each way.