Taipei Airport

Terminal 1 on arrival was negative. Unbearably long queue (one hour) at immigration, poor choice of cash machines (nothing for HSBC cardholders who need Bank of Taiwan ATMs), long queue to take a coach into down. No easy alternative into town: expensive taxi or not user friendly high speed train. Positive: scratching my head. Oh yes, it's clean and you are in wonderful Taiwan. At departure TWD 1,260 from the centre of Taipei in taxi fare. As mentioned by others, some xray checking for luggage but quick and easy. Once you have walked a little after passport checking you are in a long corridor with boarding gates on one side and duty free shops on the other. Not very welcoming. I have never checked the cost of pineapple cakes (to take back to the office) but really they are expensive. Essentially TWD 450 for 15 biscuits if you are lucky. Positives are fast immigration and security on departures. Great smoking area near gate 8 which is outdoors but enclosed enough to shelter smokers from bad weather.

This airport has shown huge improvements since my last visit a few years ago. The terminal looked very new after major renovation work and was comfortable to use. I was rudely yelled at by an airport cleaning staff member carrying baggage trolleys to keep out of her way, but other than this other airport staff members including airline ground staff and security / immigration were all quite polite and friendly. The airport was mostly clean and toilets were mostly neat and tidy. Airport dining options were slightly below satisfaction and shops were just up to standard. It took us ages to get through immigration upon arrival as only around 5 counters were open for many big flights arriving at the same time. Nonetheless a very good airport in terms of efficiency and hospitality.

Horrible immigration process in Taipei - waiting time is 1 hour plus. Only 3 immigration windows are open to non-Taiwan citizen. I have been travelling to Taiwan in the last couple years and the government doesn't seem to have the incentive to improve the process at all. Avoid traveling to Taoyuan Airport.

Although I only had about 2-3 hours for transit here, I like this airport. The terminal is large and clean, easy-to-follow boards and signs. The terminal design is impressive, each waiting lounge has its own theme such as post office, cinema, library etc with cute decors. Water fountains are installed everywhere, toilets are clean too. Book store is super-cute. Staff is friendly and helpful.

The immigration process was horrible. It took almost 2 hours. There were too many peoples and there were no staff helping the control the queues - there were only a few counters open. It was really chaos and the worst experience.

Transit was not smooth at all. They had to issue transit passes and make you go through scanning all over again (though this is understandable). In the confusion, I lost my transit pass, and was made to run from counter to counter, as the staff at each counter had a different idea of "how to solve my problem". Signage also not clear. Saw some tourists scampering around looking for their flights and transit gates due to the poor signage water coolers at our boarding area ran out of water. This is very inconvenient as many of us had recently arrived on a budget flight that doesn't serve water and will re board another budget flight.

On arrival from Hong Kong it was quick to reach immigration, the processing was fast and baggage reclaim equally as efficient. The terminal is clean and quiet despite a considerable number of passengers. In arrivals, the transportation signage to reach other places in Taiwan is clear. There are desks for telephone companies that offer affordable services for mobile and Internet for tourists. Departure to Manila - excellent choice of places for dining and shopping, abundant availability of places to sit and wait along with smoking areas. Extremely clean, helpful staff. Excellent check-in desks, luggage and immigration control were quick and efficient.

I use this airport often and it is improving. Terminal 1 is better than before, and it is now the newer Terminal 2 that needs a facelift in some places. The signs in the washrooms indicate that users should put toilet paper in the trash which I feel is awful dirty and the old Taiwanese system. Taipei has modernized its sewer, but I guess airport has not upgraded the signs.

TPE terminals are clean and I don't have too many complaints. Some of the eateries in the food court could also have a presence airside. Like Singapore and its wonderful but more expensive. Taoyuan - it seems to be taking an eternity to finish the metro link and the high speed rail is miles away and costs a fortune! That and the slow immigration are really the only two problems. When it's finished the metro will be a nice alternative to viewing an industrial wasteland (as seen from the bus in and out of the airport). The free wifi is good too.

I really have to say that Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport has significantly been improved. The terminal has become fancier and more efficient. They have re-done the waiting area and the whole airport, which has impressed me a lot. The most impressive service is the 'E-gate' which saved a huge amount of time for me. The WIFI in the airport is really convenient, it doesn't need each passenger to sign-up, just connect and it is done. The whole arrivals process is clear and easy to find, however, hoping they can open the MRT to Taipei city as soon as possible.