Passenger traffic at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport could exceed pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels by 2026 with the launch of Terminal 3’s north concourse next year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.
Passenger traffic at the nation’s airports for the first seven months of the year exceeded 30.9 million, up 45 percent from the same period last year, data from the ministry’s Department of Navigation and Aviation showed.
In particular, the number of inbound travelers from Japan, the US and Hong Kong increased significantly, the data showed.
Photo: Taipei Times file
Among international passengers, 26 million passed through the nation’s largest international airport in Taoyuan, up 40 percent from last year.
By the end of this year, passenger traffic through Taoyuan airport could top 45 million, about 90 percent of the figure in 2019.
“The growth in airport passenger numbers is expected to continue with the launch of Terminal 3’s north concourse next year, which would have a new aircraft apron. It would expand the airport’s service capacity and increase its operating efficiency,” Department of Navigation and Aviation Director Han Chen-hua (韓振華) told a news conference on Friday.
“Passenger numbers are expected to exceed that of 2019 by 2026,” he added.
From January to July, passenger traffic at Taichung and Kaohisung international airports numbered 570,000 and 2.62 million, up 160 percent and 80 percent respectively, the department said.
Meanwhile, the number of transit passengers during the same period rose 15 percent to 4.03 million, nearly 30 percent of that in 2019, it said.
The department attributed the increase to the launch of a “one-stop security” policy in September last year, which waives the security inspection requirement for transit travelers.
In addition, 239 international cruise ships accessed the nation’s commercial seaports in the first seven months of the year, up 30 percent from last year.
Nearly 510,000 cruise ship passengers accessed the nation’s seaports, with 40 percent of them being international travelers, the department said.
The Taiwan International Airports Corp forecast that 490 international cruise ships would dock at the nation’s commercial seaports this year, about 70 percent of that in 2019, the department said.
The number of cruise ship travelers accessing the seaports could potentially top 90 percent, about 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels, it added.
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