The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) yesterday announced that the Executive Yuan had approved a plan to cease operations at Pingtung Airport because of its low usage rate.
CAA statistics show that the airport’s average usage rate is 25 percent. Passengers on domestic flights have dropped by more than 90 percent, from 37,449 in 2007 to 3,552 last year.
People heading to Pingtung can take the high-speed rail or Taiwan Railway Administration service to Tsoying (左營) station and quickly switch to other means of ground transportation from there.
Uni Air is the only carrier offering two-way flight services between Taipei and Pingtung on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays. The carrier uses DASH 8-300 aircraft with a capacity of 56 passengers. The average occupancy rate has hit single-digit figures in recent years.
CAA Deputy Director-General Chen Tien-tsyh (陳天賜) said Uni Air had applied to suspend operations on the Taipei-Pingtung route from Monday.
“We are still awaiting instructions from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which received approval from the Executive Yuan,” Chen said. “The airline also needs time to inform its customers about the change, so it [suspension of flights] could potentially take effect on Aug. 10.”
Chen said there was no plan to close the airport in Hengchun (恆春), Pintung County, which has a usage rate of 30 percent.
He said the government had plans to increase usage of the Hengchun Airport, including allowing ultra-light aircraft to use the airport.
The CAA will also hold discussions with the Ministry of National Defense on relocating a navy base near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Pingtung Airport after the latter is closed.
The CAA could then expropriate the property previously owned by the Taiwanese navy to build a third runway in Taoyuan, he said.
Pingtung Airport began operations in November 1994, with the former Jhonjheng Museum of Arts building in Pingtung County used as the airport’s passenger terminal.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS