Airports of Thailand: Holiday traffic up

[Admin]

Airports of Thailand: Holiday traffic up 
Bangkok Post: 25 Dec 2009
AoT: Holiday traffic healthy

* Published: 25/12/2009 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: Business

Passenger traffic traffic through Suvarnabhumi Airport during the festive season is up by as much as 40% from the disastrous December 2008, when the country's travel industry was reeling in the aftermath of political protests.

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) is estimating a daily average of 135,000 to 140,000 passengers through the airport between now and Jan 5, up from about 100,000 in the same period last year.

The expected numbers of Christmas and New Year travellers reflects the continuation of an upward trend seen in the first 20 days of December, the onset of the peak holiday season, when the average was 130,000.

Suvarnabhumi director Niran Thiranartsin attributed the upturn to the easing of the global economic crisis, the absence of domestic political unrest and the fading memory of the People's Alliance for Democracy's (PAD) seizure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports from Nov 25 to Dec 4, last year.

In the current holiday season, Suvarnabhumi is handling nearly 800 flights a day, up by 10% from a month ago, with more charter flights, especially from Europe, ferrying tourists to Thailand.

Two carriers - the South Korean low-cost airline Jin Air and Air Austral of France - this week began to operate flights through Suvarnabhumi, raising the total number of airlines servicing the airport to 103.

About 100,000 passengers on international flights are expected to pass through Suvarnabhumi each day in the holiday season, with another 35,000 to 40,000 on domestic flights.

Heavy traffic would put a strain on Suvarnabhumi's operations and the AoT is advising passengers on international flights to be at the airport three hours prior to departure.

During the first 11 months of this year, Suvarnabhumi handled 36.41 million passengers, up by 0.45% year-on-year, while combined flights totalled 230,678, an increase of 0.85%, according to AoT statistics.

www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/29957/aot-holiday-traffic-healthy

[nookiebear]

Well I don't know where all these 'extra' passengers are going...........I've just come back from Pattaya its the quietest Xmas I've seen down there in 25 years.I think there will be many more bars for sale in the near future in addition to the hundreds that are already available to anyone who wants to become an 'overnight millionaire'

[Admin]

The Nation: 26 Dec 2009
THAI flies more flights to Chiang Mai and Phuket
By The Nation


Thai Airways International will operate 14 additional flights to Chiang Mai and Phuket, to meet passenger demand during the upcoming New Year holiday.

Piyasvasti Amranand, THAI President, stated that due to high travel demand additional flights are available during December 28 2009 and January 2 2010.

THAI will operate 8 additional round trip flights on the route Bangkok-Chiang Mai, which can accommodate additional 43,843 passengers.

Meanwhile, 6 additional flights are for the Bangkok-Phuket route, to accommodate additional 56,132 passengers.

Passengers are requested to be at the airport 3-4 hours before departure time due to traffic congestion during the holidays.

[wildoates]

I have heard the same about Pattaya, maybe it is just a different type of traveler coming over, you know more the Cheap Charlie, will go to the village type visit.

[Admin]

don't say cheap charlie. they are being very careful with money.   

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