Nearly 1.6 million passengers have been served over the past year since direct cross-Taiwan Strait charter flights were launched July 4, 2008, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) reported Thursday. Air carriers on both sides of the strait operated a total of 4,008 flights, carrying 1,597,000 passengers as of June 30 this year, according to CAA statistics. These carriers have also operated 177 cargo flights across the strait, transporting 20,632 tons of cargo since Dec. 15, 2008, when direct cross-strait cargo flights were opened, the statistics show. A total of 859 direct cross-strait weekend charter flights were operated between July 4 and Dec. 14 last year, serving 336,000 passengers and representing an average passenger load factor of 85.3 percent, according to the statistics. From last Dec. 15 to June 30 this year, a total of 3,149 direct cross-strait daily charter flights were operated, transporting 1.26 million passengers and representing a passenger load factor of 81.5 percent for Taiwanese airline companies and a passenger load factor of 75.3 percent for Chinese carriers, according to the CAA. CAA officials said that at present, the number of daily direct cross-strait charter flights stands at 108 per week, up from 36 per week last July, when only weekend flights were allowed. The officials also said regularly scheduled cross-strait flights are expected to be formally launched next month, with 270 flights available each week, thanks to the steadily warming cross-strait relations. 