State agency-run airports see 14% increase in passengers during New Year
Passengers passing through airports run by the Department of Airports (DOA) surged by 14.12% year on year during the New Year festival from December 27 to January 5, the Transport Ministry said on Wednesday.
To further boost satisfaction in the airport service, Deputy Transport Minister Manaporn Charoensri said the department had been instructed to facilitate and ensure the safety of passengers, along with adopting new technologies to boost airport service potential.
The common use passenger processing system to support airport operations are available at six airports – Krabi, Surat Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Khon Kaen, Phitsanulok and Nakhon Si Thammarat, she said.
Explosives detection and common use self-service systems were also available, she said, adding that airports should boost the number of flights each day to ensure maximum benefits to travellers.
Department director-general Danai Ruangson said that 319,275 passengers had used airports under its supervision during the New Year period.
The top five airports with the highest number of passengers were: Krabi (72,620), Udon Thani (41,785), Khon Kaen (33,562) Ubon Ratchathani (31,048) and Surat Thani (29,779).
DOA airports facilitated 2,141 commercial flights during the period, up 9% year on year. The top five airports with the highest flights were Krabi (477), Udon Thani (268), Ubon Ratchathani and Khon Kaen (202 each), Surat Thani (192) and Nakhon Si Thammarat (188).
Meanwhile, the department’s airports delivered 43,570 kilograms of cargo, up 12.91% year on year. The top five airports with the highest volume of cargo were Surat Thani (12,901 kg), Krabi (7,567 kg), Nakhon Si Thammarat (6,451 kg), Udon Thani (5,535 kg) and Ubon Ratchathani (5,286 kg).
