High flight costs due to strong and swift recovery in tourism, minister says
The Transport Ministry is pointing to the stronger-than-expected recovery in tourism for the high cost of flights, saying the surging number of international and domestic tourists created a large gap between supply and demand.
Thailand has attracted an average of 140,000 visitors a day since its reopened its borders in November 2021, Acting Transport Minister Atirat Ratanasate said on Thursday.
They have been joined on flights all over the country by a surge in domestic tourists since the pandemic eased, Atirat said.
This surge demand occurred as the aviation industry recovered from the Covid-19 crisis, making it incapable of meeting the demand, which resulted in higher prices for flight tickets, the minister explained.
Complaints from passengers have prompted Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to order the Transport Ministry to address the issue of expensive air tickets.
In a “seller’s market” it is normal for the price of air tickets to be higher than normal, Atirat said, advising travelers to reserve flight tickets in advance and avoid buying them at the last minute.
Citing a report from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), the minister said that 82.5% of air tickets from Bangkok to Phuket are priced below 2,500 baht each, even those during public holidays or bought shortly before flights.
The ministry and relevant state agencies, including the CAAT, have taken action to keep air ticket prices at “more reasonable levels”, Atirat said. These include allowing airlines to import more planes and improving ground services at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
The CAAT has identified five factors that caused air-ticket prices to rise:
- Suvarnabhumi’s insufficient ground-handling services, which are now only at 50% of demand,
- inefficient slot allocation,
- not enough flights to meet demand,
- insufficient plane-maintenance services, and
- the limited number of flights to some destinations.
