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Taiwan expects to top pre-pandemic international passenger numbers in 2026
January 26th 2026
Taiwan’s international air passenger volume is forecast to reach 62.34 million in 2026, which would surpass pre-COVID-19 levels, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said. Read More » Currently, the airlines operate flights to 107 destinations worldwide, with an average of 2,981 flights available per week, compared to 2,857 weekly international flights on the summer schedule last year and the 2,957 weekly flights in 2019. In 2025, Taiwan’s international air passenger volume was 58.33 million, falling short of the 59.92 million recorded in 2019. "Several factors are expected to boost the growth momentum in the air transport market this year, including robust air traffic demand in the Asia-Pacific region, new aircraft deliveries to carriers, the launch last month of the north concourse of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s under-construction third terminal, and revised aviation pacts with Italy and Finland," Ho Shu-ping, CAA Director General said. While the passenger number keeps growing, the traffic flows are different compared to 2019. Flights to Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia have already surpassed the levels of before the pandemic. Flights to the Middle East were up 214%, to North America 140%, and up 125% to Japan and South Korea compared to 2019. On the other hand, flights to Hong Kong and Macau were 89%, and to Mainland China, 51% of pre-pandemic levels. Factor boosting traffic was the introduction of the "open sky" policy with the US and Japan, and the growing number of passengers transiting through Taipei. "We had 6.8 million transit passengers last year, and the number is expected to grow. We hope that airlines would seize the business opportunities presented by the growth of transit passengers by combining long-haul and short-haul flights," said Lin Kuo-hsien, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications.
