Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) Taiwanese carrier EVA Airways (EVA Air) announced Thursday that it will begin direct flights from Taiwan's main airport in Taoyuan to Clark International Airport in the Philippines beginning March 30 next year.

EVA Air will fly once-daily services between Taoyuan International Airport and the Philippine airport, located within the Clark Freeport Zone, using the Airbus A321-200, the airline said in a release.

The flights will leave Taoyuan at 9 a.m. and arrive at Clark at 11 a.m., with the return flight departing the Philippines at 12 p.m. and arriving in Taiwan at 2 p.m., EVA Air said.

Once the carrier launches the service next year, EVA Air will run 35 flights each week between Taiwan and the Philippines.

Clark International Airport is around 80 kilometers from Manila, and the opening of the Taoyuan-Clark route will help shorten the travel time for people in northern Luzon having to go to Manila before they can fly to Taiwan, the company said.

This new route will also ease congestion on the busy Taoyuan-Manila route, EVA Air said, adding that it could also help attract more transit passengers to change flights in Taiwan on their way to destinations in Europe and North America.

Clark International Airport, situated northwest of Angeles City in the province of Pampanga, is built on the site of Clark Air Base, which was the U.S. Air Force's largest overseas base prior to its handover to the Philippines in 1991.