TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Traffic in July and August at Taoyuan International Airport has reached 80% of levels recorded during the summer of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, with North America and Southeast Asia performing strongly, the operator said Friday (Sept. 8).

Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (TIAC) said it had expected 6.5 million passengers to move through the country’s main gateway in July and August. Instead, 6.71 million passenger movements were recorded during the two summer months, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported.

The positive performance led TIAC to believe the total for the year could reach 30 million, or 61.6% of the figure for 2019. North America was strong due to an increase in transit passengers, while Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, and the Middle East all recorded more travelers than before the pandemic, the company said.

Flights between Taiwan and China were still a weak point, having only returned to 53.7% of pre-pandemic levels as travel restrictions still applied, according to TIAC. In July 2019, 1.43 million traveled on the route, but this year, only 670,000 made the journey.

TIAC officials pointed out that the total also included passengers on flights to and from Hong Kong and Macau.