Kaohsiung International Airport
| Kaohsiung International Airport (Kaohsiung Siaogang Airport) 高雄國際航空站 高雄小港機場 Gāoxióng Guójì Hángkōngzhàn Gāoxióng Xiǎogǎng Jīchǎng | |||||||||||||||
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  KHH | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Civil Aeronautics Administration | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Kaohsiung | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Siaogang, Kaohsiung, Taiwan | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 9 m / 30 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 22°34′37″N 120°21′00″E / 22.57694°N 120.35000°E | ||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2014) | |||||||||||||||
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Source: Civil Aeronautics Administration[2] | |||||||||||||||
Kaohsiung International Airport (Chinese: officially, 高雄國際航空站; commonly, 高雄國際機場; Chinese: 高雄国际航空站／高雄国际机场; pinyin: Gāoxióng guójì hángkōngzhàn/Gāoxióng guójì jīchǎng) (IATA: KHH, ICAO: RCKH), also known as Kaohsiung Siaogang Airport (Chinese: 高雄小港機場; pinyin: Gāoxióng xiǎogǎng jīchǎng) for the Siaogang District where it is located, is a medium-sized commercial airport in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Kaohsiung International is the third busiest Taiwanese airport, after Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei Songshan Airport, in passenger movement.[2]
History
Originally built as an Imperial Japanese Army Air Squadron base in 1942 during the Japanese rule era of Taiwan,[3] 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 an international airport in 1969, with regular international flights starting in 1972.[4]
During the 1970s and 1980s, direct international flights were rare at the airport, with Hong Kong and Tokyo being the only two destinations. Since the early 1990s, dedicated connection flights to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport) were inaugurated. This brought southern Taiwan travelers much convenience, as they can transit via the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport where there was a higher availability of international flights. In the meantime, direct flights to Southeast Asia cities were gradually opened. This reduced the inconvenience that travelers in southern Taiwan needed to travel to Taoyuan in the north before flying south. These contributed to a steady growth in airport passenger and flight movements. A new terminal dedicated to international flights was opened in 1997.
In summer 1998, EVA Air opened a direct flight between Kaohsiung and Los Angeles, but it was discontinued only three months later due to low ridership. Northwest Airlines served Siaogang Airport, operating from Kansai Airport from 1999 to 2001, and Narita Airport from 2002 to 2003. These two routes were separately suspended due to the low load caused by the September 11 attacks and SARS outbreak.
After the Taiwan High Speed Rail's inauguration in January 2007, the Kaohsiung airport suffered great losses in passenger/flight movements; the Taiwan High Speed Rail and record-high costs of jet fuel are eating up most load factors to Taipei Songshan Airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (frequent buses link the Taoyuan Airport and the THSR Taoyuan Station). Some carriers dropped the two routes while other carriers reduced flights.
Since 2009, the number of passengers has been recovering due to the opening of regular scheduled cross-strait flights, as well as the rise of low cost carriers.
Terminals
Kaohsiung International Airport has two terminals – domestic and international. They are connected by a corridor way.
The domestic terminal was built in 1965 when the facility was first opened as a civilian airport. 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 in 1997.
The international terminal opened in 1997 and all gates have jet bridges. It serves all international flights and connecting flights to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. While riding a connecting flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, passengers proceed through immigration in Kaohsiung International Airport and do not need to repeat the procedure in Taoyuan, avoiding congestion in Taoyuan and saving time between flights. The floor area for the international terminal is three times more than that of the domestic one.
Airlines and destinations
International charter flights
Several airlines such as China Airlines and Uni Air operate charter flights from Kaohsiung to many Japanese cities including Asahigawa, Hakodate, Sapporo, Hanamaki, Obihiro, Nagasaki and Kumamoto, mostly during long vacations.
Operations
| Operations and Statistics [2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Passenger movements |
Airfreight movements (tons) |
Aircraft movement |
| 2004 | 7,586,640 | 87,758.2 | 86,167 |
| 2005 | 7,374,217 | 81,453.4 | 81,718 |
| 2006 | 7,130,321 | 76,997.0 | 78,603 |
| 2007 | 5,717,242 | 70,241.3 | 67,149 |
| 2008 | 4,160,515 | 62,139.4 | 47,793 |
| 2009 | 3,661,023 | 54,382.0 | 40,335 |
| 2010 | 4,053,069 | 64,850.8 | 41,300 |
| 2011 | 4,050,980 | 55,364.4 | 42,596 |
| 2012 | 4,465,794 | 54,104.5 | 45,302 |
| 2013 | 4,646,222 | 55,112.0 | 46,721 |
| 2014 | 5,398,904 | 68,767.3 | 51,681 |
| Rank | Airport | Category | Passengers 2014 | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong | International | 1,464,142 | China Airlines, Dragonair |
| 2 | Makung | Domestic | 705,860 | Far Eastern Air Transport, TransAsia Airways, Uni Air |
| 3 | Kinmen | Domestic | 433,827 | Far Eastern Air Transport, TransAsia Airways, Uni Air |
| 4 | Tokyo-Narita | International | 325,668 | China Airlines, EVA Air, Japan Airlines, Vanilla Air |
| 5 | Macau | International | 316,174 | Air Macau, EVA Air, Tigerair Taiwan, TransAsia Airways |
| 6 | Shanghai-Pudong | International | 286,238 | China Airlines, EVA Air, Juneyao Airlines, Spring Airlines |
| 7 | Osaka-Kansai | International | 199,854 | China Airlines, EVA Air, Peach |
| 8 | Seoul-Incheon | International | 162,889 | China Airlines, EVA Air, Mandarin Airlines |
| 9 | Ho Chi Minh City | International | 143,106 | Mandarin Airlines, Vietnam Airlines |
| 10 | Taipei-Taoyuan | Domestic-International | 137,032 | China Airlines |
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.[20]
- 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.[21]
- On 23 July 2014, TransAsia Airways Flight 222 took off from Kaohsiung International Airport bound for Magong Airport. The ATR 72-500 crashed into buildings during a second attempt to land in bad weather. Of the 58 people on board, only 10 survived. 5 people on the ground were injured and the crash caused a fire involving two homes.
Ground transportation
- Subway/Train: Kaohsiung MRT red line's Kaohsiung International Airport Station has outlets in the international and domestic terminals. Passengers can use the Kaohsiung MRT Red Line to access Taiwan Railway at Kaohsiung Station and Taiwan High Speed Rail at Zuoying Station.
- Bus: Several city bus lines serve the airport. Long-distance buses to Fangliao and Kenting National Park are available.
- Taxi: Available in both terminals.
See also
References
- ↑ ex-09L/27R
- 1 2 3 "民航運輸各機場營運量－按機場分" (PDF). CAA. CAA. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ↑ [《不沉空母-台灣島內飛行場百年發展史》，洪致文，ISBN 978-957-43-2515-3]
- ↑ http://www.kaohsiung-khh.airports-guides.com/khh_history.html
- ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2015/07/02/ci-khhczx-sep15/
- 1 2 http://airlineroute.net/2015/05/13/ci-khhjapan-s16/
- ↑ China Eastern Adds New Routes to Kaohsiung in S14. Airline Route (10 April 2014).
- ↑ "EVA Air Adds Kaohsiung - Fukuoka from late-March 2015". Airline Route. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ↑ themecool.com: The Leading Theme Cool Site on the Net. Evaair.themecool.com.
- 1 2 3 4 "Far Eastern Air Transport May 2016 Route Timetable" (PDF). Far Eastern Air Transport. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2016/04/15/ci-khhtnn-jun16/
- ↑ http://www.flypeach.com/Portals/0/PressReleases/2013/131025-Press-Release-E.pdf
- ↑ "Scoot Proposes New Japan Routes via Taiwan / Thailand from July 2015". Airline Route.
- ↑ "tigerair Taiwan to Start Macau Service from Dec 2014". Airline Route. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ↑ "tigerair Taiwan Adds Kaohsiung - Osaka; Bangkok Service Reductions from July 2015". Airlineroute.net. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ↑ "tigerair Taiwan to Start Kaohsiung - Tokyo Service from Sep 2015". Airlineroute.net. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2015/11/16/b7-khh-mar16/
- ↑ Yoshikawa, Tadayuki (7 August 2014). "バニラエア、11月から香港、15年2月に高雄就航へ". Aviation Wire. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ↑ "高雄國際機場國際及兩岸定期航線班機載客率－按航線分" (PDF). CAA. CAA. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ↑ "B-241 Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
- ↑ Formosa Airlines. Baaa-acro.com.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kaohsiung International Airport. |
- Kaohsiung International Airport Official website
- Guide to Kaohsiung Airport
- Airport information for RCKH at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
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- ↑ "Glossary of Names for Admin Divisions" (PDF). placesearch.moi.gov.tw. Ministry of Interior of the ROC. Retrieved 12 June 2015.