Taiwan Taoyuan Int'l Airport Forecast to See Record High Passenger Loading in 2014

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA)saw passenger loading of some 16.7 million persons in the first half (H1)  this year, up 13.1% from some 14.7 million of last year, with the growth in May being even higher at 21.74%, according to the statistics released by Taoyuan International Airport Corp., (TIAC) a government-owned corporation that manages the airport.

TIAC attributes the rise of passenger loading to continuing increase in routes and number of flights as well as low-cost carriers and promotion by airlines and travel agencies, also predicting the airport's passenger loading this year to very likely reach a record high of 34 million.

In H1 of the year, TTIA was the only airport in Asia with a double-digit growth in passenger loading, versus moderate growths among the other regional airports known for heavy traffic.

In the first five months Singapore's Changi Airport saw passenger loading slightly rise 1.76% year-on-year, with that at Japan's Narita Airport being 5.61%. In H1 Hong Kong International Airport (also Chek Lap Kok Airport) and South Korea's Incheon International Airport witnessed growths of  6.3% and 7.8%, respectively.

Some 71 airlines operate at TTIA with scheduled flights to 161 destinations. In May the airport experienced a sizable annual rise of 24.7% in departing passengers, the highest growth of its kind, with Japan, China and Hong Kong being the top-three destinations.

In the same month, the airport's arrival and transfer passengers showed an annual rise of 21.31% and 5.47%, respectively. And the inbound passengers came mainly from China, Japan, and Hong Kong & Macao. In H1, the number of FITs from China to Taiwan hit a record high exceeding 500,000 to double that of last year. (JL)