KAOHSIUNG, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese mainland airline Spring Airlines announced here on Wednesday the opening of a direct flight on July 4 to link Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan with Ningbo in Zhejiang Province.

The two-hour flight is scheduled twice a week, departing Kaohsiung for Ningbo on Thursdays and returning on Sundays, the budget carrier said.

Yeh Kuang-shih, deputy mayor of Kaohsiung, said the new flight can promote local tourism and industrial development and bring more business and investment opportunities.

Kaohsiung has direct flight links with more than a dozen cities on the mainland. Spring Airlines now operates several flights across the Taiwan Strait.