Those interested in watching aircraft take off can now do so free of charge from the observation deck at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), which will be opened to the public today.
The observation deck was part of the Civil Aeronautics Administration’s plan to renovate the airport after international flights resumed at the facility three years ago.
According to the administration, the observation deck has an area of about 1,801m2. It is about 100m away from the runway and can accommodate 500 to 600 people at a time.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The administration said visitors could sit on chairs designed by -Brisbane-based Alexander Lotersztain and drink coffee while watching the aircraft arrive and depart, adding that they could see the Grand Hotel, Miramar Entertainment Park and Taipei 101 from the observation deck as well.
Previously, aviation enthusiasts would view aircraft from Alley 180 on Binjiang Street in Taipei, which is near the end of the airport’s runway.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said at the inauguration ceremony yesterday that he hoped the observation deck would become a new meeting place in Taipei.
Mao said the deck was a perfect place for couples to spend a romantic evening together and the Taipei Aviation Office might open a forum on its Web site allowing couples to post their love stories.
Mao said the completion of the observation only put a “comma” on the airport’s renovation, which is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
“[Former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman] Sean Lien (連勝文) said Songshan airport was inferior to Pyongyang airport,” he said. “I’ve never been to North Korea, but I knew it was not a nice comment. I could only accept it at that time and tried to address it quickly.”
That said, Mao added that Taipei airport now has the potential to be one of the world’s best airports.
The observation deck was scheduled to open in July, but the administration postponed the opening until this month because it was waiting for specially designed chairs to arrive from Spain.
Starting today, the deck will be open to the public daily from 9am to 9pm.
Visitors can enter the observation deck through Terminal 2.
Visitors may not fly kites, operate remote-controlled planes or engage in any activity that might compromise aviation safety. Violators could be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$1.5 million (US$997 and US$49,841), the administration said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS