THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Flight costs rise due to increasing air traffic

Flight costs rise due to increasing air traffic

Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam has directed the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (Aerothai) to cope with the problem of air traffic, which has resulted in planes waiting for landing space, hiking flight costs by more than Bt100 million per year.

Thaworn said that Thailand has become the hub of airlines because of the increase in the number of travellers. In 2019, more than one million fights landed in Thailand.
He urged Aerothai to focus on aviation safety to support the increasing number of flights, predicted to increase to about two million within the next 15 years.
In the past, it was reported that circling and indirect flying, such as by Thai Airways that uses traffic routes to fly from Phuket Airport to Suvarnabhumi Airport indirectly, cost up to Bt100 million per year. If Aerothai can adjust traffic routes, it will help cut the extra cost, he said.
Aerothai is currently looking for a parallel airport for domestic flights to reduce the density by creating routes for connecting flights to neighbouring countries such as Bangkok to Malaysia and Singapore so as to support international flights and fly-throughs, which are growing at 3.8 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively
Thaworn added that Thailand is developing into an air transport hub in Asia. The air traffic volume is now quite dense and tending to increase. The current traffic averages around 3,000 trips per day, or some one million trips per year. In the next 15 years, by 2036, the International Air Transport Association estimates that Thailand will be ranked in the world's top 10 in the aviation industry.

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