More than 2,000 passengers are expected to arrive daily at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport from today to Tuesday next week to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday, which is to begin on Feb. 11.
As travelers returning from overseas must undergo 14 days of quarantine, during which there can only be “one person in one housing unit” — in accordance with a directive that took effect on Friday last week — many have chosen to return this week, causing holiday travelers to arrive at the airport four weeks before the holiday, Taiwan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said yesterday, adding that the number of travelers is expected to peak on Friday.
To facilitate the movement of homebound travelers inside terminals, the airport operator said it would deploy personnel to guide them to the dining area, as well as disease-prevention taxi and bus fleets.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
If unexpected changes in flight schedules lead to a surge in passenger numbers inside terminals, the taxi and vehicle rental operators could deploy 100 additional disease-prevention taxis from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), as well as 100 rental vehicles to meet the demand, the company said.
Meanwhile, a construction group formed by RSEA Engineering Corp and Seoul-based Samsung C&T Corp on Monday passed the second-phase tender of specifications for a new terminal and would enter the final round of reviews on Thursday next week.
The team would be handed the contract to build the airport’s Terminal 3 if it passes the final review, TIAC said.
The state-owned company hosted the first-phase tender of qualifications on Aug. 21 last year, when the team and another group were qualified to enter the second-phase tender of specifications.
The second-phase tender was scheduled to take place last month, but the company moved the deadline to Monday, as both teams posed questions over tender documents, it said.
Based on the company’s construction plan, the project involves the building of a north satellite concourse, Terminal 3 and a south satellite concourse, which are to be completed in 2024, 2025 and 2026 respectively.
The new terminal would be designed to accommodate 45 million travelers annually, the company said, adding that the two concourses would help expand the capacity by 20 million passengers per year.
The company is considering building more satellite concourses connecting to the terminal, which could increase capacity by 25 million passengers, it said.
In other news, the Civil Aeronautics Administration yesterday said it would propose an amendment to the regulations governing the management of uncrewed aerial vehicles, which would extend the validity of operational permits for pesticide-spraying drones from three months to six months.
The agency started implementing regulations regarding drone management in the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法) in March last year, Flight Standards Division Deputy Director Wu Chia-jen (吳家珍) said.
As of Thursday last week, the nation had 63,568 registered drones and had issued 7,986 operation permits, agency data showed.
On Dec. 21 last year, the agency hosted a forum on the future of drones, during which representatives from the Council of Agriculture and other government agencies proposed amending the regulations to meet some of the practical needs of drone users.
Wu said that the agency would focus on three main items following a preliminary review of the regulations.
First, the validity of operational permits for pesticide-spraying drones would be extended from three months to six months, he said.
Second, the amendment would allow drone users seeking to obtain professional operational licenses to take tests directly without first having to obtain general operational licenses, Wu said.
Third, physical fitness standards set for drone users would be identical to those for vehicle drivers, he added.
The agency aims to complete the amendments by March, Wu said.
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