TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Airport officials discussed the lifting of security checks for transit passengers arriving in Taiwan from the United States, reports said Thursday (July 20).

The proportion of transit passengers from the U.S. at Taoyuan International Airport increased from 25% in 2019 to 30% in 2023, CNA reported. Under the concept of “One Stop Security,” if security checks at the point of departure are more stringent than those at the point of transit, there is no need for further checks of passengers and their luggage.

Top officials of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), the airport police, and the Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (TIAC) broached the topic during meetings in the U.S. with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Wednesday (July 19). They said the new system could be launched during fall 2023.

The largest group of transit passengers from the U.S. is heading to the “V.I.P. countries,” meaning Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, according to TIAC. The number of travelers catching a connecting flight to other Southeast Asian destinations is also rising.

TIAC expects the change to encourage transit passengers to spend more time shopping at the airport’s duty-free stores. The abolition of security checks would also improve Taoyuan’s image and lead to a reduction in the number of police officers, TIAC said.