Kaohsiung International Airport

Kaohsiung International Airport (Template:Lang-zhTemplate:Efn) Template:Airport codes is an international airport located in Siaogang District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, also known as Siaogang Airport (Template:Lang-zh). With 5.8 million passengers in 2024, it is the second busiest airport in Taiwan, after Taoyuan.<ref name="2014 Stats">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During the 1970s and 1980s, direct international flights were rare at the airport, with Hong Kong and Tokyo being the only two destinations.Template:Citation needed 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In summer 1998, EVA Air opened a direct flight between Kaohsiung and Los Angeles, but it was discontinued only after six months.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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. Template:Citation needed

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.Template:Citation needed 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.Template:Citation needed The dedicated international connecting flight between Kaohsiung and Taoyuan stopped on 1 July 2017, after over thirty years of operation.Template:Citation needed

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Terminals

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Kaohsiung International Airport terminal building

Kaohsiung International Airport control tower

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.Template:Citation needed 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.

Statistics

Operations and statistics<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation				CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Year	Passenger movements	Airfreight movements (tons)	Aircraft movement
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
2024	5,865,413	42,629.9	51,940

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Rank	Airport	Passengers	Carriers
1	Template:Flagicon Hong Kong	1,044,058	Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Air, HK Express
2	Template:Flagicon Osaka–Kansai	480,206	China Airlines, EVA Air, Tigerair Taiwan, Peach, Scoot
3	Template:Flagicon Tokyo–Narita	418,229	China Airlines, EVA Air, Thai AirAsia, Tigerair Taiwan
4	Template:Flagicon Seoul–Incheon	317,824	Asiana Airlines, China Airlines, EVA Air, T'way Air
5	Template:Flagicon Macau	278,717	Air Macau, EVA Air, Tigerair Taiwan
6	Template:Flagicon Ho Chi Minh City	208,827	Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air
7	Template:Flagicon Hanoi	202,176	Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air
8	Template:Flagicon Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi	195,040	China Airlines, Thai Airways International
9	Template:Flagicon Shanghai–Pudong	171,346	China Airlines, EVA Air, Juneyao Air, Spring Airlines
10	Template:Flagicon Naha	146,254	China Airlines, Tigerair Taiwan

Domestic routes from Kaohsiung (2023)<ref name="2018 Routes Stats"/><ref name="caa01"/>

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Carriers
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.<ref name=ASN150269>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• 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.<ref>Formosa Airlines Template:Webarchive. Baaa-acro.com.</ref>

Ground transportation

• Rail: The airport is served by Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Template:Lnl at Template:Stl, providing access to Taiwan Railway at Template:Stl and Taiwan High Speed Rail at Template:Stl.
• Coach: There is a one-way coach from Kaohsiung International Airport to Fangliao and Kenting.
• Local bus: Both terminals are served by local buses.

See also

• Civil Aviation Administration (Taiwan)
• Transportation in Taiwan
• List of airports in Taiwan

External links

• Kaohsiung International Airport official website
• Guide to Kaohsiung Airport
• Office of “E-VAT Refund” Template:Webarchive