Hualien Airport 3.22

Hualien Airport is a commercial airport located in an 11.5ha civilian area of a military airbase in Xincheng Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. It primary serves domestic flights although it can handle international charter flights as well. The proximity of Hualien Airport to a military base has caused some tension between travelers, airline officials, and the Republic of China Air Force, especially when civilian flights are cancelled due to war games exercises.HistoryThe airport was opened on May 16, 1962, for military and domestic civilian use. Before this, Hualien was a military gravel airfield.On April 27, 2001, Hualien Airport became certified to serve international flights, specifically charter flights to and from Japan (to nearby Yonaguni in particular). The first Japanese charter arrived at Hualien on October 1, 2001. Charter flights to South Korea began on August 8, 2004, and charters to Macau began on October 19, 2004. There has also been discussion of using Hualien for charter flights to mainland China under the Three Links scheme.Accidents and IncidentsOn October 26, 1989, China Airlines Flight 204 crashed into a mountain shortly after takeoff from Hualien Airport. All 54 passengers and crew on board died.On August 24, 1999, a Uni Air MD-90 flight from Taipei carrying 96 passengers and crew exploded just after it landed at Hualien. The blast injured 28 people and killed one, although a pregnant woman miscarried days later. An investigation revealed that former Taiwanese decathlete Ku Chin-shui, who was not aboard the flight, had given bottles of flammable liquid to his nephew to transport. Ku was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, but a later trial upon his appeal found him not guilty on December 27, 2004.