Kaohsiung International Airport

Kaohsiung International is Taiwan's second-busiest commercial airport and the principal gateway to southern Taiwan — a region that anchors the island's heavy industry, petrochemicals, steel, and container-port economy. Kaohsiung handles Taiwan's largest seaport and is home to major operations of CSC steel, CPC petroleum, and Formosa Plastics, all of which drive significant business traffic through KHH despite Taipei Taoyuan's dominance on long-haul routes. The airport sits entirely within Kaohsiung's Xiaogang District and is one of the closest major airports to its city center of any Asian capital-tier city. A single 3,150 m (10,335 ft) concrete runway and two terminals (domestic and international) support approximately 76 routes to 36 destinations via 27 airlines. China Airlines and EVA Air — Taiwan's two major carriers — both maintain substantial operations. The international network concentrates on Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Okinawa), Korea (Seoul, Busan), and Southeast Asia (Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau); regional carriers Starlux, Tigerair Taiwan, Cathay Pacific, Scoot, VietJet, and others provide low-cost and premium service. Direct mainland Chinese flights have fluctuated with cross-strait political conditions. KHH is one of the few major Taiwanese airports not located on reclaimed land or a distant peninsula, which has two consequences: chronic land constraints that prevent substantial expansion, and extreme proximity to the city — the Kaohsiung MRT Red Line reaches the terminal directly, with central Kaohsiung a 15-minute ride away. A long-discussed relocation or second-runway project has not advanced, and traffic (approximately 6.5M passengers in 2023) remains well below pre-pandemic levels as international service has recovered more slowly than at TPE.