Enoch Wu (吳怡農), the Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate in Taipei’s legislative by-election, has proposed relocating Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to coincide with the completion of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s third runway.
Wu’s proposal is a welcome change from mudslinging and is worthy of discussion.
A map on the Civil Aeronautics Administration Web site shows that the 213-hectare Songshan airport is surrounded by a zone of “airport restricted construction control” that extends 31km from east to west and 12km from north to south at its widest point. This zone covers 3,000 hectares, which is about 272 times the 11-hectare Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and park, 120 times the 25-hectare Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and park, and 116 times the size of Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園).
Songshan airport’s runway is 2,605m long, which is shorter than the 2,800m needed for a Boeing 747 to take off and land. The west end of the runway is only 1m above sea level, making it prone to flooding and difficult to drain.
To ensure nighttime peace and quiet for nearby residents, aircraft can only take off and land from 6am to 11pm. The prevailing east wind in the Taipei Basin makes it hard to land and brake in a westerly direction, while pilots using the east to west orientation of the runway often run into the problem of sun glare.
On Feb. 4, 2015, TransAsia Airways Flight 235 from Songshan airport to Kinmen County experienced engine failure and crashed into the Keelung River in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) shortly after taking off from the east end of the runway, killing 43 people. On Aug. 12, 1970, China Airlines Flight 206 from Hualien to Songshan airport crashed into woodland while approaching from the west, killing 14 people.
Airports in cities are close to densely populated areas, so any aircraft accident is likely to cause an even greater disaster.
Passenger planes are developing higher passenger capacities and more efficient fuel consumption. The layout and operation of major urban infrastructure facilities such as airports need to first consider safety, and have resilient disaster prevention plans.
There should be high-speed, high-capacity mass rapid transport systems to carry passengers to suburban airports that meet safety standards.
Reviewing Songshan airport, which was built a century ago under Japanese rule, and relocating its services to Taoyuan would set an example for relocating airports in Kaohsiung, Tainan and Hualien County.
Lai Ming-huang is an engineer with a doctorate from National Cheng Kung University.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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