Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Airports of Thailand PLC (AOT) Prasong Poontaneat revealed that the company’s overall revenue would not be affected by Japan’s ban on Thai chartered flights, as they can be replaced by foreign operators.
The CEO expressed confidence that AOT’s revenue for fiscal year 2015 would grow 15 percent, exceeding previous estimates by more than 10 percent. He attributed the gains to higher-than-expected growth during the first three months of 2015, which may lead to a 10 percent growth in the number of passengers this year.
He elaborated on the figure, saying that Chinese tourists are likely to increase by a million from last year’s five million visitors. The number of Russian travelers is likely to decline by five percent, but will be compensated by an increase in Indian tourists.
The AOT CEO also touched on the second phase of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport development project, saying that the matter is being forwarded to the Ministry of Transport and awaits approval from the National Economic and Social Development Board.
He said the project bid is tentatively set for the beginning of 2016. Major developments include the construction of the third runway, second passenger terminal, secondary plane hanger, eastern passenger terminal expansion, and parking lot & office building.
Upon the project’s completion, the international airport would be able to accommodate 85 million passengers a year.
