Direct flights from Taiwan to Chongqing Municipality have been arranged to transport back Taiwan tourists stranded in quake-hit areas, Chongqing airport said on Thursday.

Taiwan's China Airlines, EVA Air and TransAsia Airways will each arrange a flight on Friday to the Jiangbei International Airport in Chongqing, an airport official said.

The airport had made preparations for the flights, the source said.

The Taiwan tourists were stranded in Jiuzhaigou, a scenic spot of Sichuan Province, provincial capital Chengdu and Chongqing after a 7.8 magnitude quake jolted the province and affected many other areas on Monday afternoon.

The flight of China Airlines will arrive in Chongqing at 1:35 a.m. Saturday and leave one and a half hours later. The EVA Air flight will arrive late Friday and leave at 2 a.m. Saturday. The TransAsia flight will arrive Friday evening.

Also on Thursday,a chartered freight flight of China Airlines arrived in Chengdu loaded with relief materials from Taiwan to quake-hit regions in Sichuan.

It carried 110 tonnes of blankets, tents, clothes, first aid packets and other materials donated by Taiwan's charity institutions.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)