cabin crew journal

Taiwan attracted attention the day before yesterday, and the total number of visits to major flight tracking software reportedly broke 100 million, which is amazing. Why did Pelosi land at Songshan Airport? Does Songshan Airport only have intra-provincial routes? Are there many international routes in Taiwan? --Today, let's answer this question.

Photo: Matsuyama Airport (Huaxin ERJ-190)

Taipei City has two airports, the old one called "Songshan", which was built by the Japanese in early 1936. After the restoration, it was expanded and has been used by both the military and the civilians. However, there is an observation deck where you can take pictures freely. The airport is located in the city, so it is noisy, but it is also very convenient, and residents in the neighborhood can take a flight within a few steps.

The runway of Songshan Airport is 2,600 meters long and can take off and land 747s, but not A380s. Its real estate value is very high. However, Taiwan province is different from mainland China, and people will curse very badly if they are not satisfied. Songshan Airport has many short-haul routes very convenient, and does not lose money. Run Taoyuan Airport to catch a flight is too inefficient, so stay.

Photo: Taoyuan Airport before landing 

Taoyuan Airport, located more than 30 kilometers from the city, is now dominated by international flights, with the main destinations being Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, Southeast Asia, North America and Europe. Among them, Hong Kong and Japan and Korea are especially prevalent, with the combined volume of flights accounting for one-third. There are many business people in Taiwan and the business traffic is huge. People also love to travel, and there are many flights to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, etc. - Taiwan compatriots especially love Macau and have very close ties with it.

The two largest airlines in Taiwan are China Airlines and EVA air, both of which have sizable wide-body fleets that fly mainly to North America, including Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Vancouver. San Francisco and Vancouver, among others. There are also some mainland hub routes, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Photo: Evergreen has several North American routes 

Taiwan and mainland China opened flights (charter flights) in 2005 and upgraded to regular direct flights in 2008. Since then, Taiwanese businessmen have flocked to the mainland, creating a manufacturing boom in cities like Kunshan, Dongguan and Xiamen. Until now, there are still very many flights from various companies on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and Air China, China Eastern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines can still be seen every day at Taoyuan Airport.

Photo: China Airlines fleet in Taoyuan 

Taipei is an open international metropolis, with flights to the UAE, Turkey, New Zealand, Brunei and Germany, but some are on hold due to the epidemic. Taipei's geographical location is not as advantageous as Hong Kong, and the total number of flights at Taoyuan Airport before the epidemic was about 760 per day.

Taoyuan airport is almost all "international (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) flights", while Songshan airport is mainly "provincial routes". Pelosi chose Songshan because it is convenient and saves time. But the civil aviation at Songshan Airport is not all provincial flights, but also international (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) routes, such as Japan Airlines has a Tokyo route, China Airlines has a Shanghai route, EVA has a Xiamen route, etc.

Photo: JAL 787-8 can be seen in Matsuyama 

It is an industry practice to allow long-haul international flights at the more convenient "urban airports" to accommodate frequent flyers so that they do not have to travel too much. Such moves are "reciprocal", for example, if JAL schedules a flight to Matsuyama, China Airlines schedules one to Haneda, and no one is allowed to take advantage of the other - because such flights can be sold at a slightly higher price.

These routes often use "big planes", such as the 787 or A330 or whatever. But in general, Songshan Airport is dominated by "small planes", and now both Huaxin (owned by China Airlines) and Lirong (owned by Evergreen) use ATR 72 turboprops to fly from here to Taichung, Hualien, Matsu, Kinmen, Penghu, and other places, with a lot of frequency. However, if passenger traffic is heavy, A321 and other aircraft are also used.

Photo: Taiwan is rich in tourism resources 

Taiwan now has a serious epidemic, with dozens of deaths every day. It is a matter of urgency to extend the advanced nucleic acid, door magnet and isolation measures from the mainland to Taiwan. In the long run, people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should come and go more often, communicate more, and give each other more advice, so that the gap can be reduced and the will to return can be strong. The mainland is a vast world for Taiwanese businessmen, and common prosperity is the goal for all. Engaging in Taiwan independence, sanctions and confrontation will not lead to a way out.

The Americans have already flown away, and I hope the impact of this incident will pass in a hurry; the two sides of the Taiwan Strait will move towards each other, and everyone will have the opportunity to visit the Treasure Island. So far, from the tracking software, Taiwan's civil aviation operations are normal, and flights are all still taking off and landing normally.