Taiwan expects air travel boom this summer - Focus Taiwan

Taipei, on July 8th (CNA) The operator of Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan's primary entrance, predicts a notable surge in the number of travelers in July and August. These two months are expected to experience a peak in air travel activity as the first summer vacation following the COVID pandemic approaches.

Earlier this week, Taoyuan International Airport Co. announced that they have the capacity to accommodate approximately 6.5 million travelers over the course of two months. This surge in passengers can be attributed to Taiwanese citizens resuming their plans to travel abroad during the summer vacation, following three years of limitations due to the impact of COVID-19.

According to the blog, international travel has had a positive beginning so far. They mentioned a 50% increase in the number of passengers during the initial weekend of July compared to the average daily count of 2023.

According to the company, approximately 120,000 travelers used the airport on both July 1st and 2nd, which is a significant increase compared to the average daily number of 80,000 passengers recorded this year.

The airport predicts that there will be consistently high demand in the upcoming months. In May, the airport witnessed an average of 89,000 travelers every day, showing a significant increase from the 22,000 passengers recorded in October 2022 when Taiwan eventually eased COVID-19 border constraints.

The report stated that the May data was also equivalent to 67 percent of the air travel levels before the pandemic struck in 2019. This highlights that there is still a considerable distance to go before the aviation industry fully rebounds from the adverse effects of COVID-19. Such a trend has been observed across Asia as well.

Based on a study conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) regarding air travel, it has been observed that the restoration of air travel has been comparatively sluggish in the Asia-Pacific area as opposed to other parts of the globe.

According to data released by IATA, the global air travel industry experienced a significant decline in May 2023 as compared to May 2019. The overall international airline traffic stood at 90.8 percent of its pre-pandemic levels. However, it is worth noting that airlines operating in the Asia-Pacific region faced a more substantial setback, with their traffic reaching only 68.7 percent of the levels recorded in May 2019.

The airport in Taoyuan is expected to accommodate 20-28 million travelers this year, as projected by the company. They anticipate that by the fourth quarter of 2023, the passenger volume could bounce back to about 80 percent of its pre-pandemic levels.