Taichung and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airports scored the lowest in terms of customer satisfaction in an annual survey released by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA).
In the survey, respondents criticized Taichung International Airport for its inconvenient ground transportation services, which they said makes it difficult for travelers to get to Taichung City or any town nearby.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport was criticized for its unclear directions to various facilities at the terminals.
The CAA uses the annual survey to gauge the services of the 18 airports under its administration.
It was conducted in April among approximately 1,200 travelers.
They were asked to evaluate airport services by checking 12 listed items, including an assessment on the attitudes of ground service personnel, processing speed in the customs-inspection-quarantine areas, accessibility of airport facilities and several other criteria.
The satisfaction rate for 18 airports was 91.52 percent, down 1.28 percentage points when compared with last year’s survey. Aside from ground transportation, passengers at Taichung International Airport were dissatisfied with some of the indoor facilities, including the restaurants.
In addition to instructions inside the terminal, passengers complained that the food at the restaurants at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport was expensive and unappetizing.
They were also dissatisfied with ground transportation from the airport to nearby cities.
In response to the survey, Taichung Airport Office director Wang Yoe-ling (王幼琳) said the airport was at a remote location and has had fewer passengers over the years, so bus operators and restaurant owners at the airport have had a hard time sustaining their businesses.
Wang also said the airport was trying to build small duty-free shops inside the terminal, which are scheduled to be completed next month.
Taiwan Taoyuan Airport Office director Shiau Deng-ke (蕭登科) said that directions at the terminals had been a source of customer complaints for many years.
He said the office would overhaul the system next month when it starts a number of construction projects at the first terminal by dividing the airport into different districts and examining the directions in one district at a time.
The survey also rated service quality at smaller airports, including Hengchun (恆春), Pingtung (屏東), Lanyu (蘭嶼), Green Island (綠島), Chimei (七美), Wangan (望安), Beigan (北竿) and Nangan (南竿).
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