Kaohsiung's international airport is getting a staged expansion plan as passenger traffic surges, good news for travelers and the city's tourism and trade business.

• Lai Jui-lung, a lawmaker and the DPP's candidate for Kaohsiung mayor, laid out a short-, medium- and long-term upgrade plan during a legislative transport committee inspection of the airport.
• The plan covers finishing the new terminal at Siaogang, adding more international routes and bigger wide-body planes, and eventually building a 24-hour offshore international airport.
• Passenger numbers topped 4 million in the first half of the year, with international travelers making up more than 3.3 million of that.
• A fourth security screening lane is due to open soon, on top of earlier opening hours and a bigger waiting area that already cut peak queue times in July.
• A trial reservation-taxi service at the airport is being pushed to crack down on illegal touts and protect licensed drivers.

Outlook: The immediate focus is opening the fourth security lane and completing the new terminal, with the offshore 24-hour airport a longer-term goal.