《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Power outages plunge Taoyuan airport into darkness

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

Four power outages at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday morning disrupted immigration and customs procedures, but did not prevent passengers from entering or leaving the nation, the Taoyuan International Airport Corp （TIAC） said.

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The first outage occurred at about 12am, forcing airport security personnel and customs officers to check passengers’ documents and luggage in complete darkness, TIAC said.

Each of the outages only lasted for about five to 10 minutes, it said.

Video footage of one of the outages showed passengers waiting to pass through security inspection and passport control counters at Terminal One, with government officers using flashlights to examine their check-in luggage, passports and boarding passes.

TIAC said that the airport’s uninterrupted power supply system and emergency electricity generator provided power during the first outage, with regular electricity supply resuming 10 minutes later.

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications asked TIAC to identify the cause of the power outage and to find ways to address the issue.

TIAC said the power outage in Terminal One was caused by faulty insulation of joint connecting cable lines and a transformer in the N2 electrical substation.

It added that the area affected by the power outage was limited to the A6 to A9 boarding gates in Terminal One and the parking lot near those boarding gates.

TIAC said that the affected zone was less than 1 percent of Terminal One’s total area and did not disrupt airport operations.

Taiwan Power Co （Taipower, 台電） transmits electricity to the airport using a double return circuit power supply system, which is designed to prevent blackouts at the airport, according to TIAC.

Taipower said it would inspect all the electricity supply equipment after the incident to prevent further blackouts.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration said the airport’s X-ray baggage scanners continued to operate with the aid of the emergency backup power system, while metal detectors used by airport security personnel are battery-powered.

The power outages led to inadequate lighting in the airport’s security check areas, the agency said, adding that security personnel only used flashlights to re-inspect luggage for prohibited items.

The outages occurred less than a day after the nation celebrated the arrival of its 10 millionth international visitor on Sunday, who arrived via the Taoyuan airport.

The incident also coincided with the reopening of the northern runway, which was scheduled for yesterday.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES