The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) yesterday said it is considering allowing the military to take over Hengchun Airport, as the airport has not had any civilian traffic for about two years.
The agency said the plan was proposed as the airport was located next to a target practice field owned by the military.
However, it said the plan was not definite, as both the Hengchun Township (恆春) and the Pingtung County Government want to keep the airport for further development.
Despite the county’s plan to develop the airport property, many are pessimistic, as the Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said the ministry should not engage in unnecessary construction projects.
Although the airport is located near Kenting National Park, one of the nation’s most popular tourist attractions, CAA statistics show that flights to Hengchun were often canceled due to foehn winds.
Uni Air, Mandarin Airlines and the TransAsia Airways offered flights to and from the airport after it opened in January 2004. At the time, the airport was seen as a strategy to attract more tourists to Kenting.
TransAsia Airways and Mandarin Airlines said that too many flights were canceled because of foehn winds.
Uni Air has had a monopoly on Hengchun flights since 2007.
Statistics from the CAA show that the occupancy rate of Taipei-Hengchun flights was highest in 2004, attracting about a total of 23,000 passengers.
The number has since drastically declined to 11,000 in 2006, 2,448 in 2011 and 768 in 2014.
The last time a flight from Taipei to Hengchun took off was in August 2014.
Only two flights were dispatched that month, carrying a total of 21 passengers.
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