EVA Airways has flown its maiden flight from Taiwan’s Taoyuan airport to Munich, Germany, touching down safely at 5:25pm on Thursday.
Flight BR71, adorned with EVA’s Sanrio decoration and carrying over 300 passengers, departed after a blessing ceremony. Upon the Boeing 777’s arrival, musicians wearing traditional Bavarian clothing welcomed the travelers with gingerbread cookies.
This nonstop flight is the second connection available between Taiwan and Germany, and sixth destination in Europe overall. Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明), the general manager of EVA Airways Corp., says that Munich is a much desired travel destination for the Taiwanese. He adds that this connection will also drive more European tourists to come to Taiwan.
Germany is Taiwan’s largest European trade partner, with bilateral commerce reaching US$20 billion in 2021. According to Sun Chia-ming and Taoyuan International Airport statistics, an average of 80,000 passengers traveled to and from Germany before the COVID-19 pandemic. He says that EVA is also concentrating on the transfer market, with 30% of German travelers transferring at Taoyuan Airport and continuing on to countries in southeast Asia.