Thailand’s international airports see 19% more passengers YOY
Expansion of East Terminal expected to be approved in December while plans for upgrading of Suvarnabhumi to be completed by April
The six international airports run by Airports of Thailand (AOT) recorded 119.29 million passengers in fiscal year 2024 (October 2023-September 2024), an increase of 19.22% over the same period the previous year, the state-owned airport operator said on Wednesday.
The AOT manages Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai, Phuket and Hat Yai airports, which account for 95% of domestic and international flights.
The AOT said 72.67 million passengers travelled on international flights, increasing 34.82% year on year, while 46.62 million were domestic passengers, an increase of 11.47% year on year.
The six airports recorded a total of 732,690 flights in FY2024, increasing 14.5% year on year. Of these, 416,190 were international flights (up 29.63% YOY) and 316,500 domestic (down 0.73% YOY).
A news source said that the AOT board met on Wednesday and approved a bonus payment to the company’s employees of eight times their monthly salary, more than the previous year when they were awarded a 7-month bonus.
The meeting acknowledged that the AOT has recorded increasing profits in the past year and is now approaching the pre-Covid level. The board therefore deemed it suitable to pay a higher bonus than last year to raise staff morale, the source said.
The AOT had earlier submitted a nine-month performance report (October 2023-June 2024) to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, stating a net profit of 14.91 billion baht, increasing 178.23% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Total revenue stood at 50.76 billion baht, increasing 53.32% YOY, with the ratio of earning per share at 1.04, which is a significant jump from 0.38 recorded in 2023.
The AOT said it expected the 9-billion-baht project to expand Suvarnabhumi’s East Terminal to be approved by the Cabinet in December. The construction is estimated to be completed in 2027 and will help increase the airport’s capacity by 15 million passengers per year.
The company said it is drafting the master plan for the 10-year development of Suvarnabhumi Airport (2025-2035), in line with the government’s goal of bringing the airport’s ranking into the global top 20 in five years.
The plan, which is expected to be completed in April, will see an investment of more than 159 billion baht to increase the airport’s capacity from the current 60 million to 150 million passengers per year.
