Taoyuan airport to enter new era after runway overhauls completed

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) The 36-year-old Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport will begin a new chapter in its history after the renovation of its two runways is fully completed by January next year as scheduled.

The overhaul of the 3,360-meter northern runway is scheduled to be completed by Jan. 8 next year, airport authorities said. Work to renovate the 3,350-meter southern runway was finished this January, allowing the airport to use its full capacity to complete the overhaul of the second runway.

Since the new southern runway was reopened in January, it has been operating smoothly and it fully satisfies the requirements for takeoffs and landings of A380 superjumbo jets, the world's largest passenger aircraft, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Co. said Friday.

The runway overhauls began in February 2014, with the renovation involving digging up and repaving the runway to lay underground cables that will upgrade the airport's navigation system, according to the company.

Thanks to the inauguration of the overhauled southern runway, 89.3 percent of takeoffs and landings at the airport -- which handles more than 600 flights a day -- were made on schedule between January and May, the airport said.

Unfavorable weather conditions and flow controls exercised by neighboring airports are the main factors leading to delays, it added.

Over 35 million travelers came through the airport in 2014, representing a growth rate of 11.4 percent over last year, which the airport said was the biggest growth in Asia over the year.

In 2014, it was ranked as the fifth-best airport in Asia by the Guide to Sleeping in Airports website, 10th in Skytrax's rankings of best airports in Asia, and 18th in Skytrax's rankings of best airports in the world.

(By Chiu Chun-chin and Elizabeth Hsu)ENDITEM/J