Songshan Airport facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Taipei Songshan Airport Songshan Air Force Base 臺北松山機場 空軍松山基地
IATA: TSA ICAO: RCSS
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Owner	Civil Aeronautics Administration Ministry of National Defense
Serves	Greater Taipei
Location	Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan
Opened	1936; 89 years ago (1936)
Hub for	Uni Air
Focus city for	China Airlines EVA Air Mandarin Airlines
Elevation AMSL	5 m / 18 ft
Coordinates	25°04′10″N 121°33′06″E / 25.06944°N 121.55167°E / 25.06944; 121.55167
Map
TSA Location in Taipei Show map of Taipei TSA Location in Taiwan Show map of Taiwan
Runway
Runway Length Surface m ft 10/28 2,605 8,547 Paved
Statistics (2018)
Number of passengers 6,225,932  4.76% Aircraft movement 58,056 Total Cargo (metric tonnes) 47,132.9
Sources: Civil Aeronautics Ministry WAD

Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA) is a busy airport and military airbase in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. It covers a large area of about 182 hectares (450 acres).

The airport has flights to places within Taiwan and to other countries like Seoul, Tokyo, and some cities in mainland China. Songshan Airport handles a smaller number of international flights compared to the much larger Taoyuan International Airport. Songshan Airport is also home to some Republic of China Air Force units. This part is called the Songshan Air Force Base. Its main job is to provide flights for the President and Vice President of the Republic of China.

History of Taipei Songshan Airport

A Civil Air Transport flight at Songshan Airport in 1966.

The airport was built in 1936 when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. It started as a Japanese military airbase called Taihoku Airfield. After World War II in 1946, the Republic of China Air Force took it over.

In 1950, the airport began to be used by both the military and for civilian flights. It had flights to cities within Taiwan like Kaohsiung and Hualien. It also had international flights to places like Seattle, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Over time, the airport became too small for all the passengers and bigger airplanes.

Because of this, all international flights moved to Taoyuan International Airport when it opened in 1979. This caused the number of passengers at Songshan Airport to drop a lot. Later, in 1997, it handled over 15.3 million passengers a year, mostly for domestic flights.

When the Taiwan High Speed Rail started in 2007, many people chose to travel by train instead of flying. This made the number of passengers at Songshan Airport drop again. Some airlines even stopped flights to cities like Taichung and Kaohsiung.

Songshan Airport is now in the middle of downtown Taipei. This makes it very convenient for travelers, as it saves about 30 minutes compared to Taoyuan International Airport. However, being in the city means there are rules about how tall buildings can be nearby. Also, the airport causes noise and traffic in the city.

There have been discussions about closing Songshan Airport and turning its land into a park or sports area. However, others prefer to keep it open because it's so close to the city center. This makes it good for business travelers flying to cities like Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo.

The airport has been going through big renovations to handle more international flights. New terminals and upgrades are helping it welcome more passengers.

International Flight Potential

Taipei Songshan Airport Terminal 2.

Songshan Airport observation deck

Songshan Airport is seen as a great airport for business travelers in Asia. This is because it's located right in downtown Taipei. This is similar to airports like London–City and Milan–Linate, which are also close to their city centers.

Flights from Songshan to other city-center airports like Tokyo–Haneda and Shanghai–Hongqiao are very popular. These direct connections save travelers a lot of time.

In 2009, Japan and Taiwan agreed to allow more flights between Songshan and Tokyo–Haneda. Now, several airlines operate daily flights on this route. In 2010, direct flights between Taipei–Songshan and Shanghai–Hongqiao also began, making travel between these two major cities much easier. The airport continues to upgrade its facilities to handle more and larger airplanes.

Airlines and Destinations

Countries and cities with direct flights to Taipei Songshan

Here are the airlines and the places they fly to from Taipei Songshan Airport:

Traffic and Statistics

In 2018, Songshan Airport served over 6.2 million passengers. It also handled more than 47,000 tons of cargo. The flight route between Taipei Songshan and Kinmen is the busiest domestic route in Taiwan. Over 1.2 million travelers used this route in 2018.

Here are the top 10 busiest routes from Taipei–Songshan in 2018:

Busiest routes from Taipei–Songshan (2018)

Rank	Airport	Passengers 2018	Carriers
1	Tokyo–Haneda	1,418,248	China Airlines, EVA Air, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines
2	Kinmen	1,267,630	Mandarin Airlines, Uni Air, Far Eastern Air Transport
3	Penghu	1,036,535	Mandarin Airlines, Uni Air, Far Eastern Air Transport
4	Shanghai–Hongqiao	727,278	China Airlines, EVA Air, Air China, China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines
5	Matsu Nangan	252,172	Uni Air
6	Taitung	249,056	Mandarin Airlines, Uni Air
7	Seoul–Gimpo	242,363	China Airlines, EVA Air, Easter Jet, T'way Airlines
8	Shanghai–Pudong	205,552	Uni Air, Shanghai Airlines
9	Fuzhou	162,734	Mandarin Airlines, Far Eastern Air Transport, Xiamen Airlines
10	Xiamen	147,771	Uni Air, Xiamen Airlines

Getting to Taipei Songshan Airport

Songshan Airport metro station

Metro

You can easily get to the airport by using the Taipei Metro. The Songshan Airport metro station is on the Wenhu line, which makes it simple to reach from many parts of the city.

Bus

Many city buses also go to Songshan Airport. These buses connect the airport to different metro lines, making it convenient to travel around Taipei.

See also

In Spanish: Aeropuerto de Taipéi Songshan para niños

• Civil Aeronautics Administration (Taiwan)
• Transportation in Taiwan
• List of airports in Taiwan