The closure of Taoyuan Airport's southern runway for its annual maintenance caused several flight disruptions and impacted travelers on Sunday.
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Flight operations on Sunday were severely impacted by the annual maintenance of the southern runway at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport, badly inconveniencing travelers.
With the maintenance period scheduled from 10 a.m. on March 3 until 4 p.m. March 5, only the northern runway is left open for flights to take off and land for the next 54 hours.
However, Taoyuan International Airport Corp. (TIAC)’s official website only released the maintenance notice on the afternoon of the third, raising criticism for the late announcement.
TIAC President and Chief Executive Officer Fan Hsiao-lun (范孝倫) explained that notice of the maintenance was actually released to airlines on February 21 to give them ample time to prepare and make alternative arrangements.
Several airlines took measures to make adjustments for the runway closure, with China Airlines increasing reserve fuel capacity and diverting some flights to Kaohsiung or Songshan Airport. EVA airlines and Tigerair likewise increased fuel capacity while Tigerair also allotted for an increase in crew personnel, depending on the flights and actual situation.
Fan admits that there was a significant gap in the expected impact of the runway maintenance on the first day of implementation. Fan adds that in addition to reminding travelers to check the latest flight status, an internal review will also be conducted.
However, as much as inconvenienced travelers may wish to “run-way” from the situation, there really is not much they can do about their travel plans at this point.