TOO MUCH TOURISM: Daily passenger traffic at Penghu Airport set a record on Sunday, while locals complained of low water pressure and a shortage of rental vehicles

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 22, 2020
By: Liu Yu-ching / Staff reporter

With the nation’s borders remaining virtually closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and amid an increasing number of local travelers, passenger traffic at Penghu Airport in the outlying Penghu County hit 16,686 on Sunday, a 40 percent spike from a year earlier, airport statistics showed.

It was also the highest number of passengers served in a single day since the airport opened 43 years ago, the data showed.

Local environmental groups have said that the surge in tourists has exceeded the island’s estimated environmental carrying capacity of 15,000 people.

Prior to the launch of the second phase of domestic “disease prevention tours” on July 1, the airport drew up plans to ensure that it operates smoothly amid the expected surge in flights, including separating the foot traffic of arriving and departing passengers, and having three security check lines for departing passengers, it said.    [FULL  STORY]