The limit on the number of landings at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport during peak hours, imposed by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to address a shortage of disease prevention taxis, is like “treating a patient who has a headache by examining problems with their feet,” a tourism industry expert said yesterday.
The number of international travelers arriving at Taiwan’s largest international airport surged as many countries have reopened their borders and the Central Epidemic Command Center has gradually eased Taiwan’s border controls to contain the spread of COVID-19.
To ease congestion at the airport and shorten the line for disease prevention taxis, the agency has asked airlines not to add flights that would arrive from 3pm to 7:59pm.
Photo: Yao Chieh-hsiu, Taipei Times
“The CAA adopted a rather conservative policy by limiting international flights arriving during peak hours, because Taoyuan airport does not have sufficient disease prevention taxis to meet the surging demand. This is like treating a patient who has a headache by examining problems with their feet,” said Ringo Lee (李奇嶽), an assistant professor in Taipei City University of Science and Technology’s tourism and hospitality department.
The airport should instead try to make more disease prevention taxis available during peak hours, he said.
“Many disease prevention taxis operate in downtown Taipei. They can serve as backup when the airport needs more taxis to transport international arrivals during peak hours,” Lee said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan International Airport Corp
The government should gradually remove barriers for overseas travel by handling tourism-related issues with more flexibility, Lee said, adding that Japan, one of the most popular destinations for Taiwanese tourists, is reportedly planning to allow individual tourists to enter from next month.
Since Taiwan on June 15 implemented a shortened quarantine requirement of three days plus four days of self-disease prevention, the number of international arrivals has risen from 1,900 per day on average to 5,000 per day, National Immigration Agency data show.
Previously, arrivals had to quarantine for seven days and monitor their health for another seven.
Huang Liang-yi (黃良易), who manages airport taxi services for a self-help organization, said the group had learned to plan ahead of time.
“We know most air travelers tend to arrive at certain hours of the day and taxi drivers have to stand by during those hours,” he said, adding that taxis are organized into different groups to enable a more flexible arrangement of services.
Taiwan International Airport Corp said it asked the CAA for assistance in reducing the number of inbound flights at peak hours to shorten the waiting time at the taxi stand.
“Aside from raising the number of disease prevention taxis, air travelers are also allowed to drive to their quarantine hotels themselves or be picked up by relatives,” the airport operator said.
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