TAIPEI – Despite a general slowdown in passenger growth worldwide, Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport (TIAC) has continued inking more flight links, including plans for a new terminal in 2024.
This year, AirAsia X launched a four times weekly service between Kuala Lumpur and Okinawa, flying via Taipei.
In addition, Vietjet launched their four flights weekly Can Tho to Taipei route, while Taiwan’s newly established StarLux Airlines made its maiden flight on January 23, on routes bound for Penang, Da Nang and Macau.
Taiwan has grown more attractive lately, thanks to new infrastructure and visa policies – the latter including the New Southbound waiver that led to an approximate 12% surge in visitors from Southeast Asia, in particular Vietnam and The Philippines.
According to TIAC, passenger traffic grew 3.7% to hit nearly 45 million in 2018, attributed not only to new flight links but also the government’s New Southbound Policy, targeted at enhancing exchanges with 18 APAC countries. In 2019, visitor numbers from countries connected through the Policy went up 6%.
Already operating above its threshold of 37 million passengers – numbers reached 46.53 million at TIAC in 2019 – plans to open a third terminal in 2024 are amongst its top priorities, and possibly a satellite terminal to complement the existing main terminal.