Taoyuan International Airport

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (IATA: TPE, ICAO: RCTP) — also referred to as Taipei-Taoyuan International Airport — is an international airport situated in Taoyuan City that serves northern Taiwan, including the capital city Taipei. Located in Dayuan District, Taoyuan, about 40 km (25 mi) west of Taipei, the airport is the busiest and largest in Taiwan. In 2016, it was ranked the best airport for its size in the Asia-Pacific region by Airports Council International.
The airport opened for commercial operations in 1979 as Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (中正國際機場) and was renamed in 2006. It is an important regional transshipment center, passenger hub, and gateway for destinations in Asia, and is one of two international airports that serve Taipei. The other, Taipei Songshan Airport, is located within the city limits and served as Taipei's only international airport until 1979. Songshan now mainly serves chartered flights, intra-island flights, and limited international flights.
In 2018, Taoyuan International Airport handled a record 46.5 million passengers and 2.3 billion kg (2½ million tons) of freight, making it the 11th busiest airport worldwide by international passenger traffic, and 8th busiest in terms of international freight traffic in 2018. It is the main international hub for China Airlines, EVA Air and Starlux Airlines. It is also a hub of Mandarin Airlines, Uni Air and Tigerair Taiwan.
In the 1970s, the original airport in Taipei City — Taipei Songshan Airport — had become overcrowded and could not be expanded due to space limitations. Thus, a new airport was planned to alleviate congestion. The new airport opened (with Terminal 1) on 26 February 1979, as part of the Ten Major Construction Projects pursued by the government in the 1970s. The airport was originally planned under the name Taoyuan International Airport but was later changed to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in memory of former President Chiang Kai-shek.
The airport is the main hub of China Airlines, the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s flag carrier, as well as EVA Air, a private airline established in 1989. Overcrowding of the airport in recent years prompted the construction of Terminal 2, which was opened on 29 July 2000, with half of its gates operational; EVA Air was the first airline to move into Terminal 2. The remaining gates opened on 21 January 2005 for China Airlines, making China Airlines the only airline to operate from both terminals.
The airport has announced construction plans for a third terminal. In October 2015, the design of British firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, founded by Pritzker Architecture Prize-laureate Richard Rogers, was chosen for the 640,000-square-metre (6,900,000 sq ft) Terminal 3. Over US$2.3 billion will be poured into the project, among the most costly constructions in modern Taiwanese history. The terminal is expected to be opened in 2026 and accommodate 45 million passengers per year, boosting the yearly capacity of the airport to 86 million passengers.
Formerly known as Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, it was renamed on 6 September 2006 to its current name. The airport, originally planned as Taoyuan International Airport, bore the name of late President Chiang Kai-shek until 2006. In Chinese, its former name was literally "Chung-Cheng (Zhongzheng) International Airport", where Chung-Cheng is the legal given name that Chiang Kai-shek had used since the 1910s. In Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek is associated with the Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang and its many years of one-party authoritarian rule. Local officials in Taoyuan City and members of the Pan-Green Coalition often referred to the hub by the name originally associated with it: "Taoyuan International Airport". News organizations and local residents sometimes combined the two commonly used names as "Taoyuan Chung-Cheng Airport".
The Executive Yuan of then-President Chen Shui-bian's administration officially approved the name Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for the hub on 6 September 2006. The opposition Kuomintang, which together with its political allies held a one-vote majority in the Legislative Yuan, decried the change and proposed "Taiwan Taoyuan Chiang Kai-shek International Airport" instead. The disagreement, like those affecting the names of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and other landmarks in Taiwan, stands as another manifestation of the Taiwan localization efforts by pan-Green officials and resistance against it by Pan-Blue Coalition. The media in mainland China has always referred to the airport as "Taoyuan International Airport" so as to avoid mentioning Chiang Kai-shek.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport currently has two terminals, which are connected by two short people movers. The third terminal is under construction, while the fourth terminal is planned, however plans may be halted. The Taoyuan Airport MRT links the terminals together underground, and provides transportation to Taipei City.
Terminal 1 is the original passenger terminal of the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. The building was designed by Chinese-born, Taiwanese-American structural engineer Tung-Yen Lin and influenced by Eero Saarinen's Washington Dulles International Airport. The five-storey, 169,500 m (1,824,000 sq ft) terminal, along with the airport, opened in 1979 to relieve the overcrowded Taipei Songshan Airport. All international flights were moved to the airport following the completion of this terminal. Terminal 1 featured 22 gates. A row of 11 gates are located on the north end of the airfield facing the north runway and another row of 11 gates are located on the south end airfield facing the south runway. The two concourses that contained the airplane gates are linked together by a main building that contained the check-in areas, baggage claim, passport immigration areas, and security checkpoint areas. Together, they form a giant "H". All gates are equipped with jetways. Gates located at the end of the concourses have one jetway and also reducing people and gates not located at the end of the concourses have two jetways. The terminal was originally white in color when it first opened. As the years gradually passed, the façade and color became more tan and yellow colored due to age, while also helped by the air pollution in Taipei.
After the completion of Terminal 2, some gates from Terminal 1 were removed to make space for Terminal 2. Currently, Terminal 1 has 18 gates. Alphabetical letters were introduced when Terminal 2 was completed. The North Concourse is now Concourse A, and the South Concourse is now Concourse B. Before Terminal 2, gates were numbered from 1 to 22. China Airlines uses Concourse A for the majority of its flights in Terminal 1, while the third largest carrier of the airport, Cathay Pacific, operates most of its flights at Concourse B.
In 2012, the renovation project of the terminal, designed by Japanese architect Norihiko Dan, was completed, doubling the floor area, expanding check-in counters, increasing shopping areas and expanding car-parking facilities. Part of the project was the complete redesigning of both the exterior and interior of the terminal. The capacity of Terminal 1 is 15 million passengers per year. This renovation received the 2014 Taiwan Architecture Award from the Taiwan Architects Association.
Terminal 2 opened in 2000 to reduce heavy congestion in the aging Terminal 1. Only the South Concourse had been completed by the time the terminal opened. The South Concourse alone has 10 gates, each with 2 jetways and their own security checkpoints. The North Concourse opened later in 2005, bringing the total number of gates for Terminal 2 to 20 gates; the security checkpoints were moved to a central location in front of the passport control. The 318,000-m facility is capable of handling 17 million passengers per year.
The Southern and Northern Concourses are also known as Concourse C and Concourse D, respectively. Terminals 1 and 2 are connected by two short people mover lines, with one from Concourse A to D and the other from B to C. China Airlines uses Concourse D for the majority of its flights in Terminal 2 while EVA Air uses Concourse C for most of its operations.
A renovation planned to increase the terminal's annual passenger capacity by 5 million to 22 million per annum was announced in 2018.. Terminal 2 renovation was completed in 2020.
Construction of Terminal 3 is part of the expansion project of Taoyuan International Airport. The 540,000 square meter Terminal 3 is designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and will accommodate 45 million passengers per year. The new terminal was originally planned to be opened in 2020. However, the project has been delayed, which postpones its targeted completion to 2026. South Korea's Samsung C&T owns 70% of the construction project, or $1.1 billion, while the remainder is held by Taiwan's RSEA Engineering.
Originally part of the expansion project was a new Terminal 4. However, due to the vast amount of construction, the Ministry of Transportation ordered the airport company to halt the project in order to minimize traveller inconvenience.
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter services at Taoyuan International Airport:
The airport is operated by the Taoyuan International Airport Corporation, a company wholly owned by the Government of Taiwan. The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) is responsible for the provision of air traffic control services, certification of Taiwan registered aircraft, and the regulation of general civil aviation activities.
The airport has two parallel runways, with one 3660 meters in length and another 3800 meters in length and both 60 meters wide, enabling them to cater to the next generation of aircraft. Both runways have been given a Category II Precision Approach, which allows pilots to land in only 350-metre visibility. The two runways have an ultimate capacity of over 60 aircraft movements an hour.
There are 41 frontal stands at the main passenger concourse, 15 remote stands and 25 cargo stands. In 2015, the airport was the 11th busiest airport worldwide in terms of international passenger numbers, and sixth busiest in terms of international freight traffic.
The operation of scheduled air services to and from Taoyuan is facilitated by air services agreements between Taiwan and other countries. Since the opening of RCTP, the Taiwan Government has implemented a policy of progressive liberalisation of air services with the intention of promoting consumer choice and competition. Many low-cost airlines have started various regional routes to compete head-on with full-service carriers on trunk routes.
The airport's long term expansion opportunities are subject to variables. A NTD 300 billion proposal to build a third runway and a third terminal has been under feasibility study and consultation.
Transportation between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 is provided by the Taoyuan Airport Skytrain, which transports both passengers who have cleared security and those who have not through separate train cars. The Taoyuan Airport MRT also serves Terminal 1, Terminal 2, and the Airport Hotel, offerring free fare with an electronic ticket such as the EasyCard, IPASS (Taiwan), or icash2.0 [zh].
Huan Yu VIP Terminal, also known as the Taoyuan Business Aviation Centre (TYBAC), began service in September 2011 and was officially opened in mid-October 2011. The three-story facility has its own terminal and facilities separate from the public terminals. It provides a multimedia conference room, passenger lounge, private rooms and showers, spa, sauna, gym, and business centre facilities. Other services provided include ground handling, baggage handling, fuelling, security, customs and flight planning. Passengers planning to utilize TYBAC must sign up (to the Taiwanese immigration service) 3 days before use and pay a one-time service charge.
Statistics showed that 376 private jets landed and departed the airport through a six-month timeframe in 2011; this is a 100 percent increase from the same timeframe in 2010.
Passengers who are citizens of the R.O.C (Taiwan) with valid passports or non-citizens who have ROC (Taiwan) Resident Certificate (ARC/APRC) can register with facial features and fingerprints for the E-Gate. After registration, the passengers can choose either E-Gate or manual immigration clearance when entering or leaving the country.
The handling and transportation of mail, passenger baggage, cargo, and the operation of aerobridges and passenger stairways in Taoyuan Airport is provided by Taoyuan International Airport Services Limited (TIAS) and Evergreen Airline Services (EGAS).
TTIA currently handles over 1.5 million tonnes of cargo annually. There are two air cargo terminals in the airport: one operated by Taiwan Air Cargo Terminals Limited and the other operated by Evergreen Air Cargo Services.
China Airlines Engineering and Maintenance Organization (CALEMO) and Evergreen Aviation Technologies (EGAT) both offers maintenance services at the airport. With its huge base, CALEMO has a market share of over 75% and can offer maintenance service of five wide-body airliners and one narrow-body airliner simultaneously. In March of 2014, EGAT partnered with GE Aviation to form GE Evergreen which handles maintenance operations such as engine overhaul and is capable of aircraft conversion programs, such as the Dreamlifter program.
In 2022, aerospace company Nordam opened a major components repair facility at Taoyuan, which will serve as their regional hub replacing operations in Singapore.
Frequent buses link the airport to Taipei, Taoyuan, Zhongli, Taichung, Banqiao, Changhua, and THSR's Taoyuan Station. Bus terminals are present at both terminals.
Taxi queues are outside the arrival halls of both terminals and are available 24 hours a day. They are metered and subject to a 15-percent surcharge.
Car rentals are available at both terminals. The airport is served by National Highway No. 2.
China Airlines has its headquarters, CAL Park, on the grounds of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. CAL Park, located at the airport entrance forms a straight line with Terminal 1, Terminal 2, and the future Terminal 3.
Located adjacent to the Aviation Museum(now closed) and the convention center is the Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, which opened in November 2009. The 360-room hotel is equipped with restaurants, recreation and fitness centers, and a hair salon and spa.
The Chung Cheng Aviation Museum was located in the south-eastern area of the airport between the main freeway entrance and the terminals. It was built in 1981 by Boeing under CAA contract. Many retired Republic of China Air Force fighters are represented here. Its purpose is to preserve aviation history and provide public understanding of the civil aviation industry. It is now currently closed due to the expansion and construction of the new Terminal 3.
Taoyuan International Airport is undergoing major facility-upgrading and expansion plans. While the South runway (05R/23L) just completed its renovation in January 2015, construction started at the North runway (05L/23R) in March 2015. The runway renovations involve upgrading the runway to Category III and improving the surface conditions. On the other hand, two Terminal 2 gates, C2 and D6, had additional jet bridges installed to accommodate the A380 aircraft. After the runway and jetbridge upgrades, the airport will be able to allow regular A380 operations, with likely carriers being Emirates, China Southern Airlines and Singapore Airlines.
Plans are also underway for the construction of Terminal 3, satellite terminal, and the third runway. Terminal 3 is designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and is expected to have an annual capacity of 45 million passengers. Specific plans for the satellite terminal have not been announced. The third runway is expected to be completed by 2030.
The master plan of the airport is the Taoyuan Aerotropolis project, an urban plan aimed at creating an industrial area surrounding Taoyuan Airport. The aerotropolis will take advantage of the competitive local infrastructure to attract developments and help stimulate economic growth. The total area, including the "yolk" airport area and the "white" area, will exceed 6845 hectares. The Terminal 3 and third runway plans are all part of the "yolk" area projects, with the projected expected to be completed by 2023. However, the project has been delayed due to land resumption controversies.
In October 2015, it was announced that RSHP won the bid to design the 640,000 square meter terminal. Structures will include a processor (main terminal building), two concourses, and a multi-functional building to connect the terminal with Terminal 2. The processor will have a wave-like roof structure from which lights will be hung. The lights will move up and down to reflect the flow of passengers. Terminal 3 was initially expected to be completed in 2020 and will be able to handle up to 50 million passengers per year, thus increasing the overall yearly capacity of the airport to over 90 million passengers. It is now scheduled to be complete by 2026. The construction project involves South Korean company Samsung C&T and Taiwan's RSEA.