AOT considers freeze on employee bonuses as passenger numbers halved
Airports of Thailand (AOT) may not pay bonuses to employees during the Covid-19 outbreak, which has taken a severe toll on the company’s performance.
AOT forecasts that about 70 million passengers will pass through Thailand’s six main airports this year, down more than 50 per cent from 2019’s figure of 142 million people.
AOT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said that Covid-19 outbreak had hit performance at the six airports after airlines suspended flights amid travel bans.
“The AOT board of directors has instructed the administration department to evaluate the situation and make a financial plan,” he said. “Meanwhile, the board considers that it may not be possible to pay bonuses to employees if the situation is not resolved.”
He forecast that the Covid-19 outbreak would continue to affect the aviation industry until 2022, adding that in 2018 and 2019, AOT paid 7.75 months and 7.25 months bonuses to employees, respectively.
He explained that the number of passengers at six airports during the first four months this year was 27 million people, down 46.64 per cent from the same period last year, which saw 50 million people.
“Of total passengers, the number at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, and Chiang Rai airports was 12 million, 7.6 million, 3.8 million, 2.1 million, 780,000 and 600,000 people, respectively” he explained.
“The numbers dropped by 48.05 per cent, 46.13 per cent, 44.39 per cent, 46.88 per cent, 42.79 per cent 41.39 per cent, respectively.”
He added that the number of flights in the first four months of this year was 190,000, down 36.64 per cent.
“The number of flights at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, and Chiang Rai airports was 81,000, 59,000, 24,000, 17,000, 5,800 and 4,800, respectively. The numbers dropped by 36.55 per cent, 35.38 per cent, 39.54 per cent, 38.53 per cent, 34.07 per cent and 33.47 per cent.”
