The impact of a runway renovation project at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport was not as severe as expected, with Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) saying last week that the project caused less than 10 minutes of delay for flights operating during peak hours.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced it would close Runway 05/23 from Sept. 15 through Dec. 13 for construction work. It estimated flights operating at peak hours could be delayed by more than 15 minutes.
TIAC said Runway 06/24, the only runway that is still open, handled 36 departures and landings per hour, which slightly exceeded its capacity of 30 flights.
However, after monitoring the situation for the first two days after Runway 05/23 was closed, the company found delays could be limited to 10 minutes.
The ministry decided in 2008 to renovate the runways and -upgrade the navigation facility because two runways in the airport had exceeded their design life. The design life of Runway 05/23 had expired 10 years ago, causing maintenance problems.
The budget to renovate the runways was approved by the Council of Economic Planning and Development last year. The total cost for the project is estimated at NT$10.7 billion (US$366 million).
Despite the relatively smooth transition, the real challenges will come next year and in 2013, when the two runways were scheduled to undergo major construction.
Meanwhile, the parking facility serving inbound passengers at the airport’s Terminal One will be reopened tomorrow after being closed for more than a year. The terminal has been in use since the airport became operational in 1979.
TIAC planned to renovate the parking facility and build four new check-in counters inside the terminal during the first phase of the project.
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