Three Japanese travelers were yesterday unable to check in their luggage after the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line’s self-service baggage check system at Taipei Main Station encountered a system error, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said.
The incident occurred at the start of the line’s second phase of trial operations, which opened the metro line and the Taipei check-in and baggage check systems to individual travelers.
The trio were unable to check in their luggage because the system showed the bags were overweight, the company said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“The three people had arrived from Singapore and were yesterday scheduled to return to Osaka after a brief visit to Taipei,” the company said. “The airline’s computer system denied their request to check in luggage, saying the bags were overweight.”
“An investigation found that the program added the weight of their luggage from Singapore to Taipei to the total weight of each piece as measured at the luggage check system at Taipei Main Station,” it added.
The company emphasized that the baggage check system was also operating on a trial basis, saying that the purpose of the trial run, which will last until March 1, is to help it find potential problems so they can be addressed accordingly.
A resident of New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊) surnamed Huang (黃) said he began waiting to use the system at Taipei Main Station at 1:30am, adding that he hoped the system would also be made available at other stations.
Apart from the incident involving the Japanese, a number tag dispenser broke down twice in the morning, forcing some people to wait two hours for a number, the firm said.
Meanwhile, some passengers did not know that the Taipei check-in and baggage check services were only available to passengers flying with China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, EVA Air and UNI Air, while others did not known that people who check in their luggage are not required to take a number, the company added.
While people are allowed to enter at any of the MRT line’s 21 stations, crowd sizes at each varied. Although long lines were reported at Taipei Main Station and a few other stations at certain hours, passengers at some of the minor stations were fewer than expected, the company said.
Taoyuan Metro Corp said that the line is open between 8am and 4pm daily until March 1 with free rides, adding that the system must undergo maintenance overnight.
Each passenger must take a number before boarding, with numbers distributed at 7:40am, 9:40am, 11:40am and 1:40pm, the line’s operator said.
The amount of numbers distributed at each station would be adjusted depending on the number of passengers, it added.
Taipei Main Station has six check-in counters, six self-service check-in machines and luggage inspection facilities, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said, adding that the station has the capacity to expand the luggage check system to three times its current size.
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