Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is ranked No. 18 among the world’s top airports, down from No. 13 last year and its worst ranking in the past three years, the latest survey by UK-based consultancy Skytrax announced on Monday showed.
However, Taiwan was ranked No. 2 in terms of best airport immigration, up from No. 4 last year, No. 10 in best airport security, down from No. 8, and down two spots to No. 9 for best airport staff.
The Taoyuan airport was also ranked No. 8 for facilities available for people with reduced mobility, up one spot, but its baggage delivery service was down a notch to No. 8.
The nation failed to break into the top 10 in the categories of best airport shopping, best airport dining, best transit airports and cleanest airports.
Airports that made it to the top five in the overall ranking were, in first to fifth: Singapore Changi Airport — for the eighth consecutive year; Tokyo International Airport (Haneda); Doha’s Hamad International Airport; Incheon International Airport in South Korea and Munich Airport. Seven of the top 10 airports are in Asia.
The Taoyuan airport was ranked No. 8 in terms of best in Asia and No. 3 in airport serving 40 million to 50 million passengers annually.
Asked about the rankings, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said that many international organizations conduct airport evaluations, and Taoyuan has the potential to be in the top 10 in service quality, but the competition is fierce.
“We will review the results and see if there is anything we can do to improve,” he said.
Taoyuan International Airport Corp said that the number of passengers using the airport reached 48.69 million last year, and its passenger volume has exceeded the designed capacity of 37 million passengers since 2015.
It said it is spending more than NT$1.1 billion (US$36.76 million) to improve the airport’s facilities amid the drastic drop in usage because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the duty-free shops are renovating their facilities as well.
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