? Buddhists pray during a ceremony to commemorate the birth of Buddha, at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei May 8, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING -- A total of 441,400 passengers flew between southeastern Fujian Province and Taiwan through direct flights in the first seven months of 2011, up 49.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Fujian Department of Transportation.

A total of 3,490 cross-Strait flights took place -- almost double from the same period last year, figures released on Friday by the department show.

Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, transferred 194,500 passengers, up 74.77 percent. The remaining passengers took off or landed in the coastal city of Xiamen.

Fujian Province, which sits opposite to the island across the Taiwan Strait, enjoys the most convenient and flexible cross-strait links, including four direct sea routes and eight air routes with 377 weekly flights.

For decades, travelers have had to transfer at overseas airports, particularly in Hong Kong, in order to reach Taiwan by air.

Regular direct flights across the Taiwan Strait have been available since July 2008, when Taiwan authorities lifted a partial ban on mainland tourists visiting Taiwan.