TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —Annual maintenance on Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport's southern runway beginning on Sunday (March 3) left only a single runway for takeoffs and landings, delaying more than 500 flights during two days of repair.

Delayed flights also affected passenger traffic within airport terminals, resulting in long queues for inbound and outbound passengers. Use of both runways at the airport was restored by 9 p.m. Monday (March 4), nearly half a day ahead of the planned 54-hour shutdown, per UDN.

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TIAC) CEO Fan Hsiao-lun (范孝倫) spoke to media noting this year's annual maintenance work was more comprehensive, involving a total runway length of about 1,800 m. Fan said previous runway repair work had been completed within 16 hours.

TIAC officials had alerted airlines about the potential disruption to flights due to the closed runway through a flight advisory, but few airlines adjusted their schedules. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) reviewed the delays caused by the maintenance, admitting relevant units failed to predict the effect of closing one runway on air traffic volume.

MOTC Deputy Minister Lin Kuo-shian (林國顯) said runway maintenance this year addressed more than 10 different issues with some repairs requiring extensive digging. Lin admitted airport authorities underestimated the impact caused by repair work.

In the future, Lin said airlines must be more cooperative in adjusting their flight schedules and not leave the work to air traffic controllers.