Starting today, travelers can transit through the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before flying to a third country, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said this week, after the transit service had been suspended for more than one year.
The airport operator resumed the service after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Saturday further eased border control measures that were imposed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The center has also lifted the ban on inbound passengers being picked up by friends and relatives at the airport.
Photo courtesy of Taoyuan International Airport Corp
On Monday afternoon, the company conducted a drill to ensure that all stakeholders at the airport are familiar with the new procedures, from guiding transit passengers to the security checkpoint and dining areas to ensuring that relatives pick up international arrivals in the designated areas.
The drill proceeded smoothly as the duties had been divided among airline personnel, duty-free shop workers, and Aviation Police Bureau and Centers for Disease Control officers, TIAC president Jerry Dan (但昭璧) said following the practice run.
“Allowing international arrivals to be picked up by their friends and relatives will greatly shorten the time they wait at the airport,” he said.
Upon disembarking, transit passengers would be guided by airline crew to a security checkpoint, and then wait for reboarding at designated boarding gates or VIP rooms, TIAC said.
Duty-free purchases or meals ordered would be delivered to them, the company said.
In addition to wearing a designated sticker, transit passengers would have to wear a mask and disinfect their hands, and airport personnel would read their temperature, it said, adding that terminal areas visited by the passengers would be cleaned and disinfected.
Arrivals remaining in Taipei could get a ride from family or friends, or take a quarantine taxi, the company said.
Friends and relatives must wait for arrivals in the international arrival terminal’s waiting area, it said, adding that they cannot park in the pickup zone outside.
Offenders would be fined by the Aviation Police Bureau, it added.
The airport suspended services to transit passengers on May 19 last year after the COVID-19 alert was raised to level 3.
Also taking effect today, international arrivals are to undergo a three-day home quarantine followed by a four-day self-initiated epidemic prevention period.
Arrivals must present a negative polymerase chain reaction test result within two days of flying to Taiwan and there is an initial cap of 25,000 arrivals per week.
In other news, the Travel Bureau has proposed that the requirement that people in domestic tour groups have a booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine be waived, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said.
“Some travel agencies told us that most of those on local tours are elderly people, many of whom have yet to get a booster shot. The requirement has prompted them to cancel half of the tours,” Wang said. “We have written to the CECC with the hope that they can drop the booster shot requirement for domestic tour groups, just as they did for gym members.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNDER WAY: The contract for advanced sensor systems would be fulfilled in Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 2031, the Pentagon said Lockheed Martin has been given a contract involving foreign military sales to Taiwan to meet what Washington calls “an urgent operational need” of Taiwan’s air force, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The contract has a ceiling value of US$328.5 million, with US$157.3 million in foreign military sales funds obligated at the time of award, the Pentagon said in a statement. “This contract provides for the procurement and delivery of 55 Infrared Search and Track Legion Enhanced Sensor Pods, processors, pod containers and processor containers required to meet the urgent operational need of the Taiwan air force,” it said. The contract’s work would be
RSS