Four airlines to offer check-in at Airport MRT Taipei station

Station finally expected to open in March 2017

Passengers traveling on four Taiwanese airlines will be able to check in at Taipei Main Station when the new Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) System to Taoyuan International Airport opens.

China Airlines and EVA Airways will have check-in desks at the Taipei MRT station, as will their respective subsidiaries Mandarin Airlines and UNI Airways.

The service will allow departing passengers to check-in, get boarding passes and check their baggage before taking the 35-minute MRT train journey to the Taoyuan airport.

Taiwan-based Far Eastern Air Transport and foreign airlines that serve Taiwan routes have said they do not intend to immediately provide similar services at the MRT station.

Cathay Pacific, the largest foreign carrier operating in Taiwan, offering 163 flights per week from Taoyuan alone, says there is no demand in Taiwan for early check-in. But it does not rule out the possibility of providing the service in future.

Plans for Station A1

There is no firm opening date for the new system but trial runs could be in January with a full opening in late March.

The 51.03-kilometer line will serve more than 20 stations between Taipei and Taoyuan, including 14 between Taipei Main Station and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

The check-in service will be available every day from 6am to 9:30pm and passengers are advised to be at the MRT station at least three hours before their flight departs.

The original plan was to install eight service counters, four self check-in kiosks and six self bag drops. It is not yet clear if those numbers are still the same.

The service will not be available to passengers with oversize luggage or those that must go through quarantine inspections.

Customs officers will be at the station, called Station A1 on the airport MRT line, to screen  checked baggage, which would be transported to the airport after being inspected.

Three value-added tax refund kiosks will also be installed at the station for foreign passengers to claim tax refunds of up to NT$24,000.

N.B. Image credit: Wikipedia.org

Internet links

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)

Metro Taipei