# Kaohsiung International Airport

Kaohsiung International Airport (高雄國際機場) (IATA: KHH, ICAO: RCKH) is a medium-sized international airport in Siaogang District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, also known as Siaogang Airport (小港機場). With 4.2 million passengers in 2023, it was the third busiest airport in Taiwan, after Taoyuan and Songshan. The airport has a single east–west runway and two terminals: one international and one domestic.

## History
### Early years

Originally built as an Imperial Japanese Army Air Squadron base in 1942 during the Japanese rule era of Taiwan, Kaohsiung Airport retained its military purpose when the Republic of China government first took control of Taiwan in 1945. Due to the need for civil transportation in southern Taiwan, it was demilitarised and converted into a domestic civil airport in 1965, and further upgraded to the status an international airport in 1969, with regular international flights starting in 1972.
During the 1970s and 1980s, direct international flights were rare at the airport, with Hong Kong and Tokyo being the only two destinations. Since the early 1990s, dedicated connection flights to Taipei were inaugurated, bringing convenience to the south as Taipei had more international flights. These contributed to a steady growth in airport passenger and flight movements. A new terminal dedicated to international flights was opened in 1997.
In summer 1998, EVA Air opened a direct flight between Kaohsiung and Los Angeles, but it was discontinued only after six months. Northwest Airlines operated the Kaohsiung–Osaka route from 1999 to 2001, and the Tokyo route from 2002 to 2003. These two routes were separately suspended due to the low load caused by the September 11 attacks and SARS outbreak.

### Development since the 2000s

After Taiwan High Speed Rail, the high speed rail line that runs between Taipei and Kaohsiung along Taiwan's western plains, began operation in January 2007, Kaohsiung Airport suffered large reduction in passenger and flight movements. The convenience of Taiwan High Speed Rail and record-high costs of jet fuel were eating up most load factors to Taipei, causing the eventual cessation of flights between cities on Taiwan's western plains. The last domestic flight between Taipei Songshan and Kaohsiung landed on 31 August 2012. The dedicated international connecting flight between Kaohsiung and Taoyuan stopped on 1 July 2017, after over thirty years of operation.
Since 2009, the number of passengers has been recovering due to the opening of regular scheduled cross-strait flights to China, as well as the rise of low cost carriers.

## Terminals

Kaohsiung International Airport has two terminals – domestic and international. They are connected by a corridor.
The domestic terminal was built in 1965 when the facility was first opened as a civilian airport. Through the years, it has undergone small expansions and improvements, but jet bridges have never been added. (The domestic terminal primarily serves smaller planes that do not require jet bridges.) The current domestic terminal building also served international flights before the opening of the new international terminal. The international terminal opened in 1997 and all gates have jet bridges. It serves all international and cross-strait flights to China. The floor area for the international terminal is three times larger than the domestic one.

## Airlines and destinations

| Airlines | Destinations |
| Aero K | Seoul–Incheon |
| AirAsia | Kota Kinabalu (ends 6 April 2025), Kuala Lumpur–International |
| Air Busan | Busan |
| Air Macau | Macau |
| Batik Air Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur–International, Nagoya–Centrair |
| Cathay Pacific | Hong Kong |
| Cebu Pacific | Manila |
| China Airlines | Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Chongqing (resumes 9 April 2025), Fukuoka (resumes 15 April 2025), Hong Kong, Kumamoto, Manila, Naha, Osaka–Kansai, Seoul–Gimpo, Seoul–Incheon, Shanghai–Pudong, Shenzhen, Singapore, Tokyo–Narita Charter: Takamatsu |
| China Eastern Airlines | Nanjing |
| Daily Air | Qimei, Wang-an |
| EVA Air | Fukuoka, Hong Kong, Macau, Osaka–Kansai, Seoul–Incheon, Shanghai–Pudong, Tokyo–Narita |
| HK Express | Hong Kong |
| Jeju Air | Busan |
| Juneyao Air | Shanghai–Pudong |
| Mandarin Airlines | Hualien, Kinmen, Matsu–Nangan, Penghu |
| Peach | Osaka–Kansai, Tokyo–Narita |
| Philippines AirAsia | Manila |
| Spring Airlines | Shanghai–Pudong |
| Thai AirAsia | Bangkok–Don Mueang, Tokyo–Narita |
| Thai Airways International | Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi |
| Thai Lion Air | Bangkok–Don Mueang, Naha |
| Tigerair Taiwan | Da Nang, Fukuoka, Macau, Nagoya–Centrair, Naha, Okayama, Osaka–Kansai, Sapporo–Chitose, Seoul–Gimpo, Tokyo–Narita Charter: Phu Quoc |
| T'way Air | Jeju (begins 22 April 2025), Seoul–Gimpo, Seoul–Incheon |
| Uni Air | Kinmen, Penghu |
| United Airlines | Tokyo–Narita (begins 11 July 2025) |
| VietJet Air | Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phu Quoc |
| Vietnam Airlines | Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City |
| XiamenAir | Fuzhou, Xiamen |

## Statistics

Operations and statistics :
| Year | Passenger movements | Airfreight movements (tons) | Aircraft movement |
| 2014 | 5,397,021 | 68,767.3 | 51,681 |
| 2015 | 6,001,487 | 63,030.8 | 55,685 |
| 2016 | 6,416,681 | 71,447.8 | 57,446 |
| 2017 | 6,479,183 | 81,555.3 | 51,768 |
| 2018 | 6,973,845 | 73,541.6 | 60,155 |
| 2019 | 7,506,753 | 64,676.8 | 64,015 |
| 2020 | 1,891,762 | 46,506.3 | 26,475 |
| 2021 | 836,594 | 57,087.3 | 16,317 |
| 2022 | 1,238,674 | 46,312.5 | 20,666 |
| 2023 | 4,225,403 | 40,018.4 | 40,516 |
Busiest international routes from Kaohsiung (2023) :
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
| 1 | Hong Kong | 674,849 | Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, HK Express |
| 2 | Osaka–Kansai | 336,865 | China Airlines, EVA Air, Tigerair Taiwan, Peach, Scoot |
| 3 | Tokyo–Narita | 322,793 | China Airlines, EVA Air, Tigerair Taiwan, Japan Airlines, Peach |
| 4 | Seoul–Incheon | 234,470 | China Airlines, EVA Air, Jeju Air, T'way Air |
| 5 | Ho Chi Minh City | 196,369 | Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air |
| 6 | Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi | 174,942 | China Airlines, Thai Airways International |
| 7 | Hanoi | 172,503 | VietJet Air |
| 8 | Macau | 122,573 | EVA Air, Tigerair Taiwan, Air Macau |
| 9 | Shanghai–Pudong | 113,492 | China Airlines, EVA Air, Juneyao Air, Spring Airlines |
| 10 | Da Nang | 87,127 | Bamboo Airways, Tigerair Taiwan |
Domestic routes from Kaohsiung (2023) :
| Rank | Airport | Passengers |
| 1 | Penghu | 848,972 |
| 2 | Kinmen | 407,277 |
| 3 | Hualien | 19,377 |
| 4 | Qimei | 16,318 |
| 5 | Wang-an | 1,718 |

## Accidents and incidents

* On 15 February 1969, a Douglas C-47B B-241 of Far Eastern Air Transport was damaged beyond economic repair in an accident at Kaohsiung International Airport.
* On 27 June 1989, a Cessna 404 Titan of Formosa Airlines on its way to Wang-an, Penghu crashed into nearby Cianjhen District streets shortly after takeoff. All 12 people on board were killed; there were no ground casualties.

## Ground transportation

* Rail: The airport is served by Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Red line at Kaohsiung International Airport, providing access to Taiwan Railway at Kaohsiung Main Station and Taiwan High Speed Rail at Zuoying.
* Coach: There is a one-way coach from Kaohsiung International Airport to Fangliao and Kenting.
* Local bus: Both terminals are served by local buses.
* Car rental: a car rental centre is located between the terminals, near the airport bus stop.
* Taxis: Yellow taxis are available. A roaming taxi stop is at the right side of the International Terminal. There are also two queuing taxi stops at the airport, one at the left side of the International Terminal, and one at the left side of the Domestic Terminal.