An EVA Air Boeing 777-300ER taxiing in San Francisco. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Following years of considering, Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) has suggested that Kaohsiung International Airport build a new terminal. The airport is the second busiest in Taiwan and currently sees service from carriers such as China Airlines and EVA Air.
As the gateway to Southern Taiwan, Kaohsiung’s airport served nearly seven million passengers last year, the highest passenger volume in 10 years. In light of its upward volume, it is expected to reach its maximum capacity in two to three years.
In response to the airport development, the new airport project was discussed but without commitment. Kaohsiung Airport mainly provides domestic services and regional routes to 40 destinations, such as Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The airport features an international and domestic terminal currently and an expansion scheme was first revealed in 2017. The CAA originally planned to improve the domestic terminal’s facilities and connect the international terminal with a 343-meter concourse. The combined terminal would’ve accommodated both international and domestic flights. The CAA, however, turned down the plan and believed it to be not suitable for future demand.
Earlier, the CAA revised the terminal project to include a new domestic terminal to be built adjacent to the international terminal and the original domestic terminal would be demolished. That plan was determined not to be viable due to the two computer systems in each terminal not being compatible.
According to Hung-Hsien Lin, a CAA official, the authority proposes to build a new terminal which serves both international and domestic flights, instead of the two separate terminal projects. A consultant will finish the review of the project by the end of the year and afterward, an environmental assessment is expected to take place next year with the construction to be commenced in 2022.
The new terminal will cost NT38.4 billion ($1.26 billion USD) and is expected to be completed in eight to 10 years. As the southern hub in Taiwan, the CAA says Kaohsiung Airport can serve 10 million passengers by 2035 and expects passenger volume to reach 16.5 million by 2040.
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