While the nation’s international airports witnessed a dramatic decline in the number of passengers last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, four airports on outlying islands reported strong growth in passengers, with the number exceeding that recorded in 2019.
Statistics from the Civil Aeronautics Administration showed that four of the eight airports on the nation’s outlying islands recorded strong growth in the number of passengers last year, despite the pandemic.
The four airports were on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), Nangan (南竿) in Lienchiang County, and Cimei (七美) and Wangan (望安) in Penghu County.
The largest growth was recorded at Lanyu airport, where the number of passengers grew by 24.6 percent to 57,529, the data showed.
It was followed by the airports in Wangan, Nangan and Cimei, with the number of passengers increasing by 20, 19.1 and 11.8 percent respectively.
Passenger numbers at the airports in Hualien and Tainan dropped by 40 percent last year, while Chiayi and Penghu’s Magong airports recorded a 30 percent fall.
The remaining airports serving domestic flights recorded passenger volume down by about 10 percent.
Passenger numbers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport dwindled significantly, from about 48 million in 2019 to 7.4 million last year.
Passenger numbers at the airports in Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taipei fell by about 70, 60 and 50 percent respectively.
In related news, the wireless Internet service at Taoyuan airport has been upgraded from Wi-Fi 4 to Wi-Fi 6, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said yesterday, adding that the new service would give people at the airport a much faster Internet connection.
The airport is the nation’s first public transport hub to install Wi-Fi 6 on its public Wi-Fi service, the airport operator said, adding that its ability to effectively handle more traffic makes it ideal for use in public spaces.
The fastest transmission speed provided by the Wi-Fi 4 service was 150 megabits per second, while the Wi-Fi 6 service provides transmission speeds of up to 1.2 gigabits per second, it said.
Meanwhile, Chunghwa Telecom and Far EasTone Telecommunications have accelerated construction of 5G networks at the airport, which are due to be completed by May, the airport operator said.
“The combination of Wi-Fi 6 and 5G services would allow more air travelers to swiftly connect to the Internet using mobile devices. It would also enable air travelers to quickly fill in quarantine declaration forms online, limiting contact between people and consequently preventing the spread of disease,” the company said, adding that faster Internet connections would facilitate the work of airport service personnel and make possible the provision of smart services.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition