Toyama-Taipei Charter Flights to Resume in April

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:54 JST, February 26, 2023

Preparations are steadily underway at Toyama Airport for the resumption of charter flights to and from Taipei on April 13, the airport’s first international flights in about three years.

On Feb. 17, the Toyama Airport administration office showed to the press its quarantine system and other drills carried out in preparation for resuming international flights. About 40 staff members from customs, animal quarantine and airline companies participated in the drills, which included checking the smooth flow of immigration and customs procedures.

According to the administration office, nearly half of the participants had no experience in accepting international flights at the airport, due to the three-year suspension of international flights. Even for those with experience at other airports, it was still necessary to retrain on the local procedures at Toyama Airport and ensure everyone is familiar with them.

The training also focused on checking the operations of systems that did not exist three years ago, such as the use of cashless payments for customs collection and online preclearance of immigration procedures.

The first Taiwan charter flights will operate for a total of 18 days from April 13 to May 16. The 180-seat aircraft set to be used is expected to carry about 3,000 passengers to Toyama in total during this period.

Airport administration director Toshihiko Okada said: “[The training] went smoothly. There are many people involved, so we want to reaffirm our awareness of the need for strong horizontal cooperation.”