Losing out to the high speed rail services, the little-used Pingtung airport, which was opened just six years ago, may soon be officially closed. And potential future uses of the property are already under discussion by the transportation authorities. So far the options include turning it into an aircraft repair station, or a tourist attraction.

The Pingtung Airport is only six years old and has flights only three days a week, Friday, Sunday and Monday with the number of passengers each month being a little less than 300.

This translates into just 10 visitors per day which is actually fewer than the number of staff who work at the airport.

The low utilization rate of this airport has led the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to consult with local authorities to close the airport in March at the earliest.

This means that civil aircraft will no longer take off and land at this airport.

At the moment, there are two airports within this area, with the Pingtung and Hengchun Airport in the same area and the Kaohsiung International Airport to the north.

The low utilization rate of the Pingtung Airport which only has a Taipei to Pingtung routes operating three times a week will be soon grounded.

Later, the CAA plans to transform this airport into a tourism facility as well as an aircraft maintenance location.

Another reason for the closing of the Pingtung Airport is the impact of strong winds which frequently lead to closures of the airport.

With its decommissioning in the future, there is the chance it could be used for helicopters or light aircraft tourism with weather suitable for these operations just half the year though further planning will be needed.