The government should ease aviation restrictions at Taichung International Airport to facilitate the city’s development into a service hub for Taiwan’s machinery and aerospace industries, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Andy Chiu (邱臣遠) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The airport is near small and medium-sized businesses that form complete supply chains of Taiwan’s machinery and aerospace industries, Chiu said, adding that it has the potential to become a service hub for both industries.
However, large passenger and cargo jets cannot land at the airport because of restrictions linked to its use by military planes, Chiu said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
More international flights would land in Taichung if restrictions are eased to allow operations from 7am to midnight, instead of the current 7am to 11pm.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and the Ministry of National Defense should consider building new runways specifically for civilian aircraft, he said, adding that the airport’s economic benefits can be boosted without compromising national security.
In addition, the government should accelerate planning of zoning projects near the airport, while an access road should be quickly designed and built to connect the airport directly to the Formosa Freeway (National Freeway No. 3), he said.
More jet bridges should be procured for the airport, which would have an increase in international arrivals as global travel gradually recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Chiu said.
Chang Rui-tsang (張睿倉), a TPP candidate for Taichung city councilor, said that the airport would be more appropriate as a transit hub for short and medium-haul flights in Asia compared with Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport.
Taichung airport’s great potential has been limited by aviation regulations, which should be eased, Chang said.
CAA Deputy Director-General Fang Chih-wen (方志文) said that the agency has completed a master plan for Taichung airport through 2035.
In addition to being a large domestic airport, it is to be a regional international airport, an operating base for low-cost carriers and a hub for aerospace-related industries, Fang said.
The plan calls for Taichung airport to be accessed by 5.02 million passengers per year by 2035, Fang said, adding that developments would be planned on the expectation that the number of passengers would eventually reach 10 million per year.
The agency has also planned a third terminal for Taichung, he said.
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