Taoyuan airport expects busy long weekend

• By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

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Passenger traffic at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport could exceed 930,000 people over the Mid-Autumn Festival and Teacher’s Day travel period, the airport’s operator said yesterday.

Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) expects the peak holiday travel period to run from Sept. 24, the day before Mid-Autumn Festival, to Sept. 29, the day after Teachers’ Day, company senior vice president Tony Yu (余崇立) said.

“We estimate that more than 930,000 passengers would pass through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport during the six-day period, with an average of approximately 155,000 passengers per day,” Yu said.

People stand in line at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in an undated photograph.

Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times

Peak outbound passenger traffic is expected on Sept. 24 and 25, with an average of about 84,000 outbound of 160,000 total passengers per day, while inbound traffic was projected to peak on Sept. 28, when an estimated 85,000 inbound of 158,000 total passengers, he said.

Passenger volume in July and last month was 8.6 million, with a daily average of about 138,000 passengers, he said.

Daily average passenger volume in July and August last year exceeded 132,000 and 137,000 in 2019, he said.

This year’s single-day high for passenger traffic was 169,000 on Feb. 14, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, he said.

Passenger traffic at Taoyuan airport this year was more than 30 million as of July 31, Yu said, adding that it could reach 50 million by the end of this year.

Passengers are advised to complete check-in online and arrive at the airport early, Yu said.

“Travelers should make sure that food products they bring home from overseas do not contain meat, such as ham, sausage or pork floss, including meat in moon cakes,” he said.

Separately, TIAC aims to deliver a preliminary plan for relocating some flight services from Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 to Terminal 3, with the main Terminal 3 building and south concourse to become operational by December next year, Yu said.

Taiwan’s three major airlines — China Airlines, EVA Airways and Starlux Airlines — would all provide services at the new terminal once it is completed, he said.

Terminal 3 would primarily serve transit passengers, such as Southeast Asian travelers headed to North America via Taiwan, he said.

“In principle, flight services with transit travelers would be stationed in Terminal 3,” Yu said.

TIAC is to discuss the details of flight service relocations with the airlines, he added.

“They would require adequate time to relocate flight services, which cannot be completed in one day. They might begin by relocating flight services with fewer transit passengers before gradually moving flights from Southeast Asia to North America via Taiwan,” he said.

The flight service plan for Terminal 3 is crucial, as government agencies and contractors must ensure they recruit an adequate number of personnel to meet staff needs during peak and off-hours for inbound and outbound passengers, Yu said.