The number of passengers passing through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport this year could exceed that of 2019 amid a strong recovery in air travel and the number of long weekends during the second half of this year, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said yesterday.
As of May 31, 19.57 million passengers had passed through the nation’s largest international airport, which was 96.5 percent of 2019’s figure, TIAC vice president Lee Chun-te (李俊德) told a news conference in Taipei.
The number exceeded 20 million on June 4, he added.
Photo: CNA
The airport operator estimated that the number of travelers next month and in August would rise 9.5 percent to reach 8.53 million people, which would exceed the 8.52 million recorded in the same period in 2019, Lee said.
“International arrivals and departures at the airport could approach or even surpass 2019 levels. Factors such as changes in global economy, the travel habits of domestic passengers, international politics and the exchange rate of the New Taiwan dollar against other currencies might influence overall air passenger volume,” he said.
More Taiwanese might be motivated to travel abroad with more long weekends available in the next six months, he said.
The conflict between Israel and Iran has caused many airlines to bypass airspace in the region, Lee said, adding that it would inform travelers of any flight changes.
Some Asian countries have reported a decline in sales of flights to Japan due to a prediction in the 1999 manga The Future I Saw by Ryo Tatsuki. The original version claimed a great disaster would occur in 2011, which some people believe accurately predicted the March 11, 2011, Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan. An updated version of the manga published in 2021 said that “the real catastrophe” would come in July 2025.
In the past few weeks social media posts warning of the manga’s prediction have surged in Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea, the Washington Post reported on Thursday last week.
Although fears over the manga could affect flight ticket prices, the airport had yet to detect a significant change in the number of Taiwanese tourists to Japan, Lee said.
The airport has also not seen a steady rise of Taiwanese returning to Taiwan for recall elections set for July 26, he added.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS