The number of passengers flying with budget airlines from the nation’s airports saw an annual increase of 41.2 percent to 3.36 million from January to September, a figure representing 12.6 percent of the total, Ministry of Transportation and Communications statistics show.
The nation was served by 18 budget airlines in September, compared with 14 at the same time last year, the ministry said.
The ministry said the number of budget airline passengers is expected to increase further this year, as Bangkok-based NokScoot Airlines launched its first flight between Taipei and Bangkok at the end of last month, becoming the 19th low-cost carrier offering flights in Taiwan.
In addition, Taiwanese budget airline V Air is to launch a new flight route to Japan next month, the ministry said.
The total number of passengers flying from the nation’s airports reached 43.37 million by September — an increase of 3.7 percent, the ministry said, adding that the number of passengers flying from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport increased 6.9 percent to 28.59 million.
Growth was also seen in other transport systems over the same period. The number of journeys on the nation’s railways — including those on trains run by the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp, Taipei’s MRT metropolitan railway system or Kaohsiung’s MRT system — reached an average of 2.86 million per day, representing growth of 3.9 percent, the ministry said.
The number of journeys on Taipei’s MRT increased by 5.9 percent to an average of 1.93 million per day, the ministry said, adding that the launch of the Songshan Line in November last year and the July launch of the extension from Yongning Station (永寧站) to Dingpu Station (頂埔站) on the Bannan Line boosted passenger numbers.
The number of journeys on the high-speed rail system increased by 4.2 percent to an average of 13.6 million per day, the ministry said, adding that the number would increase further when the Miaoli, Changhua and Yunlin stations become operational next month.
Freeway toll fees had reached NT$61.35 million (US$1.86 million) by September, representing growth of 5.3 percent, the ministry said.
The number of visitors from overseas had reached 7.55 million by September, up from 4.1 percent over the same period last year, the ministry said, adding that the number who came for mainly tourism grew by 2.6 percent to reach 5.35 million, while the number of Taiwanese passengers traveling overseas reached 9.97 million.
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