Domestic flight passengers who are on standby for the next available flight can place themselves on a waiting list by entering their information at one of the standby information kiosks at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), the Civil Aeronautics Administration said yesterday.
The Taipei International Airport Office said that 10 standby information kiosks have been installed at Terminal Two for a test period that began yesterday and would continue until the end of this month, adding that the service would be officially launched on Jan.1.
Domestic passengers at Songshan airport had to go to the standby counters of four domestic flight carriers and had to fill in their personal information at each one of those counters to be placed on a waiting list. Apart from being a hassle to passengers, the old method caused trouble for the ground crew of airline companies, the office said.
For example, an airline would repeatedly call for a passenger on the waiting list for boarding, when that passenger had already boarded a flight from another carrier, the office added.
The office noted that each of the four domestic flight carriers — Uni Air, Mandarin Airlines, TransAsia Airways and Far Eastern Air Transport — has two standby information kiosks next to their standby passenger counters, adding that two other kiosks are placed in the area where the check-in counters of all domestic airlines are located.
The office said that the kiosk offers a one-stop solution for most domestic passengers who need to go on a standby list, as they can check from the kiosk the flights offered by each domestic airline and enter their information through the machines without having to go to each counter to fill in the information.
The only exception is for passengers boarding flights from Songshan to Matsu or from Songshan to Hengchun (恆春), as these flights are exclusively operated by Uni Air, the office said. Passengers who need to board those flights still need to go to Uni Air’s counter, the office said.
To access the standby information kiosk, passengers need to follow on-screen instructions and type in their information, scan their ID cards or let the machine read their health insurance cards.
Passengers would also be able to check the waiting lists for domestic flights through the airport’s official Web site and mobile application after Jan.1.
Volunteers and private security guards would be available during the test period to assist passengers using the kiosks should they have any questions, the office said.
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