Those interested in watching aircraft take off can now do so free of charge from the observation deck at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), which will be opened to the public today.
The observation deck was part of the Civil Aeronautics Administration’s plan to renovate the airport after international flights resumed at the facility three years ago.
According to the administration, the observation deck has an area of about 1,801m2. It is about 100m away from the runway and can accommodate 500 to 600 people at a time.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The administration said visitors could sit on chairs designed by -Brisbane-based Alexander Lotersztain and drink coffee while watching the aircraft arrive and depart, adding that they could see the Grand Hotel, Miramar Entertainment Park and Taipei 101 from the observation deck as well.
Previously, aviation enthusiasts would view aircraft from Alley 180 on Binjiang Street in Taipei, which is near the end of the airport’s runway.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said at the inauguration ceremony yesterday that he hoped the observation deck would become a new meeting place in Taipei.
Mao said the deck was a perfect place for couples to spend a romantic evening together and the Taipei Aviation Office might open a forum on its Web site allowing couples to post their love stories.
Mao said the completion of the observation only put a “comma” on the airport’s renovation, which is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
“[Former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman] Sean Lien (連勝文) said Songshan airport was inferior to Pyongyang airport,” he said. “I’ve never been to North Korea, but I knew it was not a nice comment. I could only accept it at that time and tried to address it quickly.”
That said, Mao added that Taipei airport now has the potential to be one of the world’s best airports.
The observation deck was scheduled to open in July, but the administration postponed the opening until this month because it was waiting for specially designed chairs to arrive from Spain.
Starting today, the deck will be open to the public daily from 9am to 9pm.
Visitors can enter the observation deck through Terminal 2.
Visitors may not fly kites, operate remote-controlled planes or engage in any activity that might compromise aviation safety. Violators could be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$1.5 million (US$997 and US$49,841), the administration said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS