BANGKOK, April 25 – Thailand’s aviation industry continues to grow, according to passenger figures recorded during the recent Songkran holiday as reported Friday by Caretaker Transport Minister Chatchart Sittipan.
Mr Chatchart made his remarks as he presided at a collaboration meeting of related aviation agencies organised by the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (Aerothai).
He said the Transport Ministry had monitored the number of passengers using Don Mueang Airport which has significantly grown during the Songkran holiday –growing much faster than the number of land passengers such as those travelling by bus, rail and private automobiles– as air tickets have become cheaper and travellers value how they spend their time.
According to the caretaker minister, as many as 120,000 persons opted to travel by plane on the Bangkok-Chiang Mai route, while 18,000 persons chose buses as their transportation means and 9,000 persons travelled by train.
At Don Mueang Airport, the number of passengers now reaches almost 50,000 persons per day, while international flight operations from Don Mueang are also increasing, Mr Chatchart said.
Meanwhile, Suttipong Kongpool, Aerothai’s vice president of policy and strategy, said that air traffic in the Asia-Pacific region has significantly increased. In Thailand alone, growth has risen almost 20 per cent with the current number of flights reaching more than 669,000 per year and possibly increasing to 2 million per year in 2030, becoming the world’s 12th rank in terms of air traffic. (MCOT online news)
