Suvarnabhumi Improves Services Amid Thailand’s Tourism Rebound

 BANGKOK (NNT) - The Ministry of Transport has instructed Suvarnabhumi Airport to urgently address the issue of long immigration queues and wait times at baggage carousels in order to better facilitate the entry of international travelers amid Thailand’s tourism rebound.

Serving as the country’s main port of international arrivals, Suvarnabhumi Airport last month saw a total of 4.3 million passengers at an average of 138,287 daily passengers, representing 317% year-on-year growth.

The airport in January 2023 served 25,690 flights at a daily average of 829 flights. Some 2,000 of the flights that month - or around 80 flights per day - were from China, bringing in a total of 255,000 arrivals, or around 11,000 passengers a day.

The surge in arriving passengers has caused some issues at the airport, particularly congestion at passport control and long processing periods for baggage. Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said that while these issues have already been addressed, more work needs to be carried out to ensure the airport’s capacity for future growth.

The Ministry of Transport has ordered Airports of Thailand (AOT) to add 60 additional immigration counters at the airport’s passport control areas. This expansion, which is in the process of selecting contractors, is expected to expand the processing capacity at passport control to 3,000 people per hour.

On the baggage handling front, AOT has instructed the two ground-handling companies to increase the number of staff members and equipment in order to accommodate more flights. Some airlines have received temporary authorization to manage their own ground-handling at the airport, in an effort to help reduce delays.

The AOT is also in the process of selecting a third ground-handling company to serve flights at the airport, as this would enable the airport to more sustainably increase its growth capacity for flights and passengers.

Sourse - ASIAN NOW

7 Airlines To Slash Airfares By Up To 20% From Jan. 2023

THE Thai Airline Association said today (Dec. 26) that seven airlines are going to cut airfares by up to 20% from January 2023 after the government reduced the excise tax on jet fuel to only 20 satang per litre to stimulate tourism, TV Channel 7 said.

Mr. Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, president of this association, said excise tax on jet fuel was cut to 20 satang per litre from 4.726 baht for six months starting January.

All seven airlines will be jointly organising a special promotion with all air fares to be gradually reduced by up to 20% depending on how each airline arranges it.

“The seven airlines will gradually organise this promotion with a maximum discount of 20% from the beginning of January 2023 onwards and I believe that this will help stimulate travel and tourism in all regions,” he said.

The seven airlines participating in this promotion are Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X, Thai Smile, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and Thai VietJet.

Meanwhile Mr. Nitinai Sirismatthakarn, president of Airport Authority of Thailand (AOT), forecast that air traffic volume during Dec. 29, 2022 – Jan. 4, 2023 at all its six airports will be around two million passengers, an an increase of 171.28% over last New Year (Dec. 29, 2021- Jan. 4, 2022).

Of this total around one million will likely be international passengers, an increase of 832.51%, and around one million domestic passengers, an increase of 57.05%.

There will be around 12,190 flights, an increase of 87.01%, divided into approximately 5,340 international flights, up 260.53%, and around 6,850 domestic flights, up 35.98%.

With all six AOT airports, Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang, Phuket and Hat Yai, being crowded passengers are requested to come to the airport two to three hours in advance so as to not miss their flight.

Source - ThaiNewsRoom

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International airlines return 80% of their airport slots in Thailand for the next five months

A traditional Thai statue wears a face mask as a campaign for travelers to prevent the spread of Covid-19 coronavirus at the departure terminal of Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on December 18, 2020. / AFP

International airlines have returned as many as 80% of their airport slots at Thailand’s six international airports between October 31st and March 26th next year, indicating their uncertainty over a recovery in the aviation sector, according to Nitinai Sirisamatthakarn, the managing director of Airports of Thailand (AOT) Public Company.

AOT operates Suvarnabhumi, Don Muaeng, Phuket, Hat Yai, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang international airports.

He disclosed that the lowest point for the aviation industry in Thailand was from July to September, this year, after the Thai government suspended all regular flights as a precautionary measure to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, during which average daily arrivals at the six international airports was only 50 passengers.

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/international-airlines-return-80-of-their-airport-slots-in-thailand-for-the-next-five-months/

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Airports of Thailand Offers Huge Discounts for Airlines and Business

Airlines and concessionaires that suspended operations will not owe rent or concession charges for 9 months or until operations resumed, AOT said.

Thailand’s State-owned Airports of Thailand Pcl has said it will offer new measures for airlines and businesses to mitigate the Covid-19 impact. Because of the decline in flights and passengers amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Airports of Thailand (AOT) said it would offer a 50% reduction in rents, terminal fees and landing charges from April to December for airlines and businesses.

The announcement comes after AOT warned on Wednesday that it expected passenger traffic to drop by 53% for the fiscal year ending in September.

Airlines and concessionaires that suspended operations will not owe rent or concession charges for 9 months or until operations resumed, AOT said.

Duty-free retailer King Power, which holds the majority of duty-free and commercial concessions at airports, has closed its stores and is selling non-duty-free products online.

AOT operates six airports, including the country’s largest international hub, Suvarnabhumi Airport, and saw nearly 900,000 flights and 141.8 million passengers in the year that ended September 2019, booking profits of 25 billion baht ($773.5 million).

Its airport on the resort island of Phuket is closed.

Thailand has reported 2,839 cases and 50 deaths from the coronavirus.

The country’s aviation regulator in early April imposed a ban on passenger flights until the end of the month to curb the spread of the virus. The government had already banned the entry of non-resident foreigners in March.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy stands to lose 1.3 trillion baht, most of it in the tourism sector.

More than 2.57 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally, and 178,574 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Source - Chiang Rai Times

It won't burn down: Architect defends vision for #Bangkok airport

Bangkok’s main airport is planning to add a $1.3 billion terminal with extensive wooden cladding and a forested landscape, spurring concern about fire risk. Its designer says there’s no need to worry.

Tropical forests inspired the blueprint for the building and the aim is to give travelers a feeling of Thailand’s uniqueness, 52-year-old architect Duangrit Bunnag said in an interview. He rejected concerns from the Engineering Institute of Thailand that the structure could be a fire hazard.

“Airports tend to have similar features -- they’re white, cold and metallic,” Duangrit said. “I wanted a design that immediately gives travelers the feeling they’ve arrived in Thailand. It will be a metal structure covered with wood. Different treatments can be applied to the timber to ensure fire resistance.”

Airports of Thailand Pcl, the biggest Asian airport operator by market capitalization, announced last month that it was awarding the design contract to a joint bid by Duangrit Bunnag Architect Ltd. and Japan’s Nikken Sekkei Ltd.

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 The state-controlled firm expects to boost annual passenger capacity by 30 million by building a second terminal at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi international airport. Construction is due to start next year and finish by 2021.

A tourism boom is straining the country’s infrastructure, putting pressure on officials to tackle bottlenecks. Foreign arrivals could hit 40 million next year -- equivalent to more than half the population.

Duangrit’s design features sweeping arches and giant columns clad in wood. He also proposed an enclosed tropical-forest landscape spanning about 16,000 square meters between two buildings of the terminal. Passengers would be able to see but not to enter the landscape, a symbol for ecological protection.

“The difficulty in designing the terminal is how to make it memorable to travelers from around the world,” Duangrit said. “How do I make it look different to all the other airports?”

Source - TheJakartaPost 

Bangkok - Thousands of passengers stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport after their tour agent fails to show up.

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Thousands of passengers were stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday night after staffs of a company that promised them of a trip to Japan during Songkran Festival did not show up.

Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanawarangkul has to step in by holding a meeting with authorities concerned at the airport. Police have to relocate to new floor those who said they paid fees, ranging from Bt15,000 to Bt20,000, to a firm, Wealth Ever, for a trip to Japan between April 13 and 15, to give space for other passengers. Their numbers are said of them were reported to be about 1,500.

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The airport is already crowded with Thais going out of the country during the long holidays of Songkran. Police are told that there would be a lot more of passengers, about 2,000 who are scheduled to travel with the firm in trouble coming to the airport on Wednesday.

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Source - TheNation

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Bangkok - Suvarnabhumi International Airport has always given top priority to the safety of customers

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AOT to order stricter ground-handling after complaint

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  SUVARNABHUMI Airport has always given top priority to the safety of customers’ property and strictly monitored the luggage-sorting area and the baggage handling conveyor system in order to prevent thefts, it was confirmed on Friday. 

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Airport director Siroj Duangrat said at a press conference organised by Airports of Thailand (AOT) that more measures would be implemented follow a female passenger’s allegation that the lock of her luggage was cut open and the contents inside ransacked late last month. 

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The woman also claimed that her initial complaint was ignored by airline staff, so she had filed a police complaint at the Suvarnabhumi precinct. Her allegations circulated widely on Thai social media and drew public criticism.

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Siroj said the CCTV footage from the baggage handling conveyor system did not find anything usual and no one had touched the luggage in question. 

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As an airport service provider could not brush off responsibility, he said measures would be implemented to prevent such issues in future. 

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The airport held a meeting with two companies that won concessions to provide ground-handling services – Thai Airways International’s Ground Equipment Services and Worldwide Flight Services Bangkok Air Ground Handling Co Ltd – and told them to strictly supervise officials to ensure work was done in keeping with AOT standards, Siroj said.

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If a concessionaire could not offer services that met AOT’s standards and caused serious damage to its reputation, the AOT would cancel the concession contract, he said. In addition, the airport is considering establishing a subsidiary company to more effectively manage baggage handling and protection of passengers’ belongings, he added.
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Source - TheNation