The north concourse of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 officially began operations yesterday and is expected to ease congestion during early-morning transfer and departure peak hours, the airport operator said.
About 40 flights are to use the north concourse every day, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC, 桃園國際機場) said.
The new concourse is expected to significantly cut the use of remote aircraft stands, where passengers have to be bused to and from planes, improving passenger flow, the airport company added.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
During a trial period, which began on Dec. 1, 259 takeoffs and landings were recorded, with passenger traffic of 58,801, it said.
Terminal 3 was designed by British architect Richard Rogers, who also designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
The terminal’s design incorporates traditional Taiwanese roof tiles, mountain ridges, ocean waves and clouds.
The north concourse features a bright, modern design with silver-gray and orange accents.
Besides regular seating and standing areas with power outlets, 30 massage chairs are available free of charge.
The north concourse extends from Gate D10 in Terminal 2 and connects to gates D11 through D18.
As the main Terminal 3 complex is to be completed and opened in 2027, passengers using the concourse need to clear immigration and security at Terminal 2.
At a ceremony marking the concourse’s opening, President William Lai (賴清德) said that goals to be completed include finishing Terminal 3 by 2027 to allow construction of the airport’s third runway to begin.
Another goal is to ensure external transport links to the airport are completed on schedule, Lai said.
Another is for Taoyuan airport to handle 83 million passengers, 3.85 million tonnes of cargo, and 435,000 takeoffs and landings annually by 2045, creating an economic impact of NT$2.2 trillion (US$69.89 billion), he said.
The ceremony was attended by airport officials including and TIAC chairman Yang Wei-fuu (楊偉甫) and other politicians, including Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and Taoyuan Mayor Chang San-cheng (張善政).
Separately, a global ranking found that Taipei-to-Hong Kong was the busiest cross-border airline route this year, with 6.8 million seats sold.
The route, which is serviced by seven carriers, has consistently topped the ranking, including last year and in 2019, Official Aviation Guide said.
The average fare was US$115, down 6 percent from last year, it said.
Taipei was also represented in ninth, with the Taipei-Tokyo (Narita) route ferrying 4 million passengers, it said.
Additional reporting by Kayleigh Madjar
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