Taipei Songshan Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Taipei Songshan Airport
nativename =
nativename-a = 台北松山機場
nativename-r =

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image-width =
caption =
IATA = TSA
ICAO = RCSS
type = Public
owner =
operator = Civil Aeronautics Administration
>Ministry of National Defense
city-served = Taipei
location =
elevation-f = 18
elevation-m = 5
coordinates = Coord|25|4|10|N|121|33|6|E|type:airport
website =
metric-elev = yes
metric-rwy = yes
r1-number = 10/28
r1-length-f = 8,547
r1-length-m = 2,605
r1-surface = Paved
stat-year =
stat1-header =
stat1-data =
stat2-header =
stat2-data =
footnotes =

Taipei Songshan Airport airport codes|TSA|RCSS (Traditional chinese: 台北松山機場 or 臺北松山機場, simplified chinese: 台北松山机场, Hanyu pinyin: Táiběi Sōngshān Jīchǎng), is a midsize commercial airport located in Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan. The airport covers an area of 1.82 km². Because of its location and that it mostly serves domestic scheduled flights, Taipei Songshan Airport is commonly referred as Songshan Airport or Songshan Domestic Airport. Besides civilian usage, this airport is also the base of certain ROC Air Force units, including the Songshan Base Commandwhose main mission is to service the President and Vice President of the Republic of China.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines providing regular passenger and cargo flights:
* China Eastern Airlines (cross-strait charter) (Nanjing, Shanghai-Pudong)
* China Southern Airlines (cross-strait charter) (Shanghai-Pudong)
* Hainan Airlines (Beijing (cross-strait charter))
* Mandarin Airlines (Kaohsiung, Kinmen, Makung)
* Shanghai Airlines (cross-strait charter) (Shanghai-Pudong)
* TransAsia Airways (Guangzhou (cross-strait charter), Shanghai-Pudong (cross-strait charter), Hualien, Kinmen, Makung)
* Uni Air (Guangzhou (cross-strait charter), Hengchun, Kinmen, Makung, Matsu Beigan, Matsu Nangan, Taitung, Pingtung)
* Xiamen Airlines (Xiamen (cross-strait charter))

Service to Taichung and Chiayi was stopped in mid-2007 after the load factor dropped significantly due to Taiwan High Speed Rail start of revenue service in January 2007. Also because of this, starting from March 1, 2008, Uni Air suspended its service to Kaohsiung, and Far Eastern Air Transport suspended its service to Tainan. TransAsia Airways decided to stop flights to Tainan and Kaohsiung after August 1, 2008.

Four offer unscheduled charter flight:
* Daily Air (德安)
* Sunrise Airlines (中興)
* Great Bird Air Lines (大鵬)
* Asia Pacific Airlines (亞太)

Airport Service

* Food & Beverage Shopping
* Currency exchange Post office
* Insurance Passenger services
* Information kiosk Nursery
* Telephone Service Nursing Station
* Weather Information Flight Information Display System
* Baggage Lockers Parking lot
* Service for the Handicapped Message Service
* Wireless Internet Service Aircargo Service

History

The airport has its origins as a Japanese military airbase, the Matsuyama Airdrome, during Japanese rule. After World War II, in 1946, it was taken over by the Republic of China Air Force. Before the end of the Chinese Civil War and the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the airport provided flight routes between Shanghai and Taipei, occasionally via Fuzhou.

Shared military and civilian use—both domestic and international—began on April 16, 1950 in the reconstructed Civil Aeronautics Administration Taipei Airport (交通部民用航空局台北航空站). Domestic destinations have been Kaohsiung, Hualien, Taichung, Makung, and Tainan. The first international destinations were Seattle, Tokyo, Pusan, Manila, Bangkok, and Hong Kong. The first international airlines included Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, and Garuda Indonesia. Later, the airport became too small to handle an increased number of passengers, even after a series of expansions. This later worsened when new wide-body jets became common at the airport. Therefore, all international activities were relocated to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport) after its inauguration on February 26, 1979.

An issue of contention is whether planned future flights to the mainland would fly out of Songshan Domestic or Taoyuan International (since some in Taiwan consider the mainland "domestic" while others do not). Then mayor Ma Ying-jeou has been pressing to make Songshan Airport Taipei's main cross-strait terminal, citing that its location close to the city center would make it preferable for business travellers. However, some members of the pan-green coalition have cited that allowing mainland flights to land so close to the presidential headquarters would cause a security hazard.

Songshan is one of eight airports planned to receive cross-strait flights. Terminal 1, currently being used, will be used for international flights, while all domestic airlines will be transferred to the currently unused Terminal 2 adjacent to Terminal 1. [ [http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national%20news/2008/06/22/162082/Taipei%2Dairport.htm Taipei airport being renovated - The China Post ] ]

International potential

Songshan has potential for business travel. Within Pacific Asia, Bangkok-Don Mueang, Kuala Lumpur-Subang Airport, Nagoya-Komaki, Osaka-Itami, Seoul-Gimpo, Shanghai-Hongqiao, and Tokyo-Haneda are all in the central areas of cities, and all these cities have larger far flung international airports. This kind of "city-to-city" flights are served between Seoul-Gimpo and Tokyo-Haneda, and planned to start in October 2007 between Shanghai-Hongqiao and Tokyo-Haneda, and are extremely popular. In particular, Seoul to Tokyo direct flights take 1/3 the total travel time over their international counterparts (from 4.5 hrs to 1.5), when ground transport is included. Conversely, Manila-Clark is farther, but relatively unused.
Ho Chi Minh City also has this kind of potential when Long Thanh is opened, replacing Tan Son Nhat.

Demolition proposal

After Taipei City's continuous development the Songshan airport nowadays is located in the very downtown. This creates certain convenience for travelers but the city also significantly suffers the noise, pollution and restrictions on urban planning it brings about. In the 2002 and 2006 Taipei Mayor Election DPP candidates Ying-yuan Lee and Frank Hsieh both proposed the plan to demolish this airport, and turn the land it occupied into huge park or sports arena: the Taiwan High Speed Rail would quickly take up the traffic load among western Taiwan cities, and the remaining service to outlying islands and eastern Taiwan could be easily taken over by the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT System's scheduled inauguration in early 2010s. This proposal was deferred under the Taipei City Government which has long been dominated by the Pan-Blue Coalition.

Trivia

*In early 1999 when the construction of Taipei 101 was just started, Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration changed this airport's certain SID and STAR procedures to avoid possible collision with this to-be building. Before these safety measures were in place, it was even considered that Taipei 101 be erected at half its current height.

*Songshan airport and St. Marteen's Princess Juliana International Airport are widely regarded as the 2 airports which non-passengers have the easiest and closest access to runway, and are regarded as paradises for planespotters worldwide.

*The Fuxing North Road Underground Passage(復興北路車行地下道) was constructed between 1997 and 2006 under the this airport's runway to link the north and south side of this airport.

ee also

* Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
* Transportation in Taiwan

References

External links

* [http://www.tsa.gov.tw/ Taipei Songshan Airport Official website] (in English and Traditional Chinese)