Taoyuan airport terminal to handle A380 jets next year
2014/08/10 16:08:24
Taipei, Aug. 10 (CNA) Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport will renovate two boarding gates in a bid to accommodate A380 superjumbo jets next year, Taoyuan Airport Corp. President Fei Hourng-jiun said Sunday.
Fei noted that the two boarding gates in Terminal Two will be upgraded for the double-decker aircraft, along with the installation of new double-decker air bridges, which is expected to be completed by March 2015.
The two upgraded boarding gates can also be used by general-sized aircrafts, he added.
Also, an overhaul of the south runway, which began in February this year, will be completed by the end of 2014 to handle the double-decker A380, with several foreign air carriers already expressing interest in flying the 525-seat passenger jet to Taiwan, Fei said.
Among foreign carriers operating in Taiwan, Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and China Southern Airlines now offer A380 service.
Dubai-based Emirates Airlines, which has the largest A380 fleet in the world, said earlier this year at the launch of its flight service to Taiwan that the company will consider flying the A380 on its Taiwan route after the south runway overhaul at Taoyuan International Airport is completed.
Also, Seoul-based Korean Air hopes to become the first airline to use the new double-decker boarding gates for its A380 aircraft at Taoyuan International Airport, according to airline sources.
(By Wang Shu-fen and Jeffrey Wu)
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