Kaohsiung International Airport is rebuilding its terminal while staying open, and passenger traffic is running well above pre-pandemic levels — good news for travelers and airlines, though the construction will drag on for years.

• A new central terminal is being built in two phases, eventually handling 16.5 million passengers a year.
• An east-side parking garage opens next year, and a shifted taxiway the year after.
• Building without closing the airport means demolishing only after new sections are finished, which makes the work slow and complex.
• Weekly flights are already 13% above 2019, with Japan and South Korea routes the biggest chunk.
• Kaohsiung carried 5.74 million passengers last year and is on track to top 7 million this year.

Outlook: Bidding for road and access improvements around the terminal is already underway, so construction disruption will continue even as traffic keeps climbing.