Drop in domestic travel despite high passenger numbers at Thailand’s 6 key aiports
Thailand’s six major airports have handled more than 141 million passengers over the past 12 months and though international travel rose by 4.4 per cent, passenger numbers on domestic routes showed a drop of 1.4 per cent, the Airports of Thailand (AOT) reported on Tuesday (October 1).
Data on passenger traffic at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports, the Phuket International Airport, Chiang Mai Airport, Hat Yai Airport and Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang Airport was collected from October 2018 and September 2019.
Statistics showed that Suvarnabhumi Airport dealt with the highest number of passengers at 64.7 million, up by 3 per cent, followed by Don Mueang, which had 41 million passengers, recording a 1.1 per cent increase. Phuket, meanwhile, dealt with 17.85 million, down by 2.3 per cent; Chiang Mai 11.32 million, up by 4.7 per cent; Hat Yai 4 million, down by 5.6 per cent; and Chiang Rai nearly 3 million people, recording a rise of 5.3 per cent.
The data collected also showed that domestic travel had dropped almost everywhere with the exception of Suvarnabhumi and Chiang Rai airports, which recorded a 3.49 per cent and 1.33 per cent increase in domestic travellers respectively. Meanwhile, domestic travellers at Hat Yai Airport had dropped by 4.8 per cent, Phuket by 4.2 per cent and Don Mueang by 4 per cent.
Over the 12 months, the six airports dealt with 896,070 flights, recording an increase of 2.4 per cent. Of these, 491,997 were international flights, up by 6.4 per cent, and 404,073 were domestic flights down by 2.1 per cent.
The number of flights to and from Suvarnabhumi Airport rose by 4.1 per cent at 378,885, while Chiang Mai Airport dealt with 80,532 flights marking a rise of 6.5 per cent, though Hat Yai only dealt with 2,027 flights, down by 7.4 per cent.
The study found that budget airlines dealt with 66.7 million passengers over the past 11 months, marking an increase of 5.43 per cent. Of them 28.31 million were international passengers, up by 16.41 per cent, and 38.4 million domestic passengers, down 1.42 per cent.
Meanwhile, budget airlines had 429,765 flights over the past 11 months, up by 6.33 per cent. Of the flights, 172,333 were international, up by 19.03 per cent, and 257,432 domestic, down by 0.76 per cent.