Airports get ready for invasion

Major Thai airports are expecting to be overcrowded during one of their busiest periods of the year.

Projections by Airports of Thailand Plc are that its six airports will have a 26% surge in passengers during the Chinese New Year holidays, which run from Feb 14-26.

A total of 4.31 million people are expected to ascend and descend at the airports during the period, an increase of 890,000 from last year’s record of 3.42 million.

Aircraft take-offs and landings in the period will also grow in parallel, rising 12.7% to 27,144.

The growth rate of passenger throughput for the Lunar New Year is higher than the recent New Year holiday period (Dec 26 to Jan 5) when the volume jumped 15.7% year-on-year to 3.62 million.

The surge in passenger traffic for the festival is driven largely by Chinese holidaymakers but also reflects the robust recovery of Thailand’s tourism industry, according to travel analysts.

The bulk of passenger traffic over Chinese New Year will be through Suvarnabhumi airport, the gateway to the country, while Don Mueang airport, Thailand’s low-cost carrier hub, is expected to see the steepest growth.

Suvarnabhumi is expected to see 20% growth in passenger traffic to a daily average of 165,783, as airlines and charter operators, mostly from China, are putting on 563 extra flights over the period to boost the daily frequencies to 926.

Projections are that Don Mueang will see a 60% jump in passenger throughput to 81,500 a day, with aircraft movements growing by 25% to 600 a day.