International Fail: Taoyuan Airport
If I was to pick one thing that really hurts the image that Taiwan projects to foreign visitors, the one thing that sticks out above the lack of standardized romanization of Chinese, the relative lack of English and the general lack of organization and consistency, it would be the airport. In particular, the customs line for incoming foreign nationals.
Every time I come back to Taiwan from other countries, the airport really lets me down. Last night, as I came back from a short trip to Japan, I strolled up to the customs area and was once again shocked at the incredibly inefficient and unwelcoming way of handling incoming foreigners.
Where the locals got about 10 short lines, foreigners were herded into a snake-line. The difference? My Taiwanese workmates got through the line in about 10 minutes. It took me 45 minutes to get through customs. Why the different handling? I’m not sure, but compared to other international airports in East Asia, Taoyuan is almost laughably primitive. The new Korean airport in Incheon plans for large influxes of passengers, preparing a battalion of customs officers to handle the load. I think the longest I’ve waited to get through customs there was 3 minutes. Narita isn’t bad either, taking around 10 minutes to get through.
There’s a new terminal being built at Taoyuan, let’s hope the new building brings not just nicer digs but more importantly, a better process.
Categorised as: General, Taiwan
I do understand your frustration. However as a Taiwanese person myself. I have been to many different countries. Not only do I need to get visas for most of the places I visit, I am also treated differently as citizens from elsewhere in the airports. The customs officer ask me questions and type my name into the computers. Sometimes it can take a while. It can be quite embarrassing as it take no time for others to go though. I know we need to improve our airports a lot and I do not deny it’s a shit hole but from a Taiwanese point of view…. maybe it’s the only time we can treat ourselves a little better than others. Why not ?
Actually, I don’t take exception to Taiwanese having a short line. Local citizens always get their own line at the airport, but the system of handling large amounts of visitors is so inadequate, I believe it’s a blight on Taiwan’s international image. Also from what my friends say, travelling as a Taiwanese citizen is VERY troublesome, having to apply for a visa for almost any destination. I definitely appreciate my Aussie passport.
Things have changed a lot in the last 3 years. Taiwanese have got visa free to many countries and Taoyuan airport is one of the fastest airports to pass through nowadays, especially for ARC holders.
As for the Taiwanese response above, that is very typical thinking here, but fortunately the government has moved away from that thinking somewhat.
While I totally agree that Taoyuan airport leaves a bad impression compared to Incheon and Singapore aesthetically, the immigration line in Sydney was even worse than Taoyuan. I was just there in March 2011 and the line for foreign passports was just like you described with the snake, but in a space that felt like half the size of Taoyuan.
Taiwan really needs to improve the look, function and training of the people working at their intl airport. It just looks third world, tacky and embarrassing. Come on, Bangkok’s airport looks so much better.
Btw, love your site and your viewpoints. Not sure what I take from those comments on your “things I hate about taiwan” post. Some I totally agree with, others I’m just “get a life and leave”.
@taipeir You’re right, I believe Taiwanese now have visa-free travel to the UK and Japan, maybe others.
@Tony It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Sydney airport, but I remember it being a pain-in-the-ass with the split terminal (domestic / international) requiring a bus ride. Compared to other Asian airports, Taoyuan is an eyesore and looks third-world.
The comments on the “marble sidewalk” post are just incredible, but I figured it’s better to have some discussion and let people vent. Some of the responses are pretty sour – just makes you wonder why people don’t leave if they don’t like it.