Aviation Circle Taiyuan International Airport, the largest airport in Taiwan, China, has released its throughput in 2021. The annual passenger volume was only more than 900,000, a record low, while the cargo volume was the opposite, exceeding 2.8 million tons, a record high.
The Taiwan transportation authorities held a press conference on February 8. Taoyuan Airport disclosed relevant data at the meeting. On the same day, Taoyuan Airport also issued a press release and related data on its official website. Taoyuan Airport pointed out that the epidemic has pushed up the demand for air freight. Taoyuan Airport's air cargo volume in 2021 hit a record high of 2.81 million tons, ranking among the top four in Asia (second only to Shanghai Pudong Airport, Hong Kong Airport and Seoul Incheon Airport), with an annual increase of 20% and is growing for two consecutive years. Looking forward to this year, as the world is still deeply involved in the shortage of containers and supply chain disorder in the sea transport port, Taoyuan Airport Company will continue to assist operators in improving cargo processing capacity through measures such as elastic scheduling of the apron and optimizing the air-land side cargo movement line. It is estimated that the growth momentum is expected to continue, and the annual challenge is 2.89 million tons. Taoyuan Airport Company pointed out that during the epidemic, various airlines maneuvered to adjust passenger and cargo aircraft capacity. According to statistics, before the epidemic, in Taoyuan Airport, about 500 cargo aircraft takeoffs and landings per week in 2019, only 30%. In 2021, the takeoffs and landings of cargo aircraft (including passenger aircraft pure cargo) increased by nearly three times compared with the same period in 2019, reaching about 1,900. According to the estimates of IATA ( International Air Transport Association ), global air cargo volume will continue to grow in 2022, with an annual growth rate of 4.9%. Image source: Taoyuan Airport
Taoyuan International Airport had a record of 48.69 million passengers before the epidemic in 2019, but due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, passenger traffic has plummeted in two years. In 2021, the number of passengers dropped sharply by only 909,000, setting a record low in Taoyuan Airport in 43 years.
Taoyuan Airport Company predicts that if border controls can be gradually unblocked this year, it is conservatively estimated that the number of passengers this year can reach about 10 million, equivalent to one-quarter of the pre-epidemic situation. However, if the border continues to be strictly controlled, the number of passengers is expected to be only 1.5 million, equivalent to 3% before the epidemic.
