TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China Airlines (CAL) is raising its number of flights by 30% as international travel surges, reports said Friday (Jan. 19).
The country’s main gateway, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, reported long lines at security checks and passport controls for outbound passengers over the past week following the end of COVID-19 restrictions and ahead of the start of the Jan. 20-29 Lunar New Year holidays.
Compared to the final quarter of 2022, CAL has increased its capacity by 30%, adding more flights to its three Chinese destinations, Shanghai Pudong, Beijing, and Xiamen, the Liberty Times reported. The frequency for flights to and from Los Angeles has been increased to one a day, while regional services have also expanded.
Because of the high number of Taiwanese business people expected to return to work in China after the holidays, CAL said it was upping the frequency of flights to Shanghai to two per day from Jan. 27 to Feb. 5. There would be two flights a week between Kaohsiung and Shanghai from Jan. 28, and six a week between Taipei Songshan Airport and Shanghai beginning in February.
Next month will also see two flights a week between Taoyuan and Beijing, CAL said. For Xiamen, the frequency had been raised to six a week and would change to one a day from March.
CAL flights to and from Hong Kong will increase to four a day from Feb. 6, and at least to five a day in March. Daily service between Kaohsiung and Hong Kong was scheduled to be restored in March.
CAL said it was also paying attention to the North American travel market. Flights leaving Taoyuan for Los Angeles in the afternoon would be scheduled four times a week, with a daily flight leaving each evening of the week from February. Added to the four flights a week and Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County, CAL said it would operate a total of 15 flights a week between Taiwan and the Greater Los Angeles area.
On Friday (Jan. 20), the airline was launching a service between Taoyuan and Chiang Mai in north Thailand, featuring four flights a week. Kaohsiung was also included in CAL’s expansion plans, with more flights to Japan, Thailand, and South Korea, the report said.
Traffic at Taoyuan was expected to increase during the Jan. 20-29 holidays, with a peak of 94,520 passengers forecast for Jan. 28, per CNA. The single-day number of travelers passing through the airport has not reached 90,000 since Feb. 2020.
Airport officials estimated more than one million passengers would use Taoyuan between Jan. 20 and 30, the first working day after the holidays. Immigration encouraged travelers to use the e-Gates for passport control in order to save time.
