byTourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Came out to adjust the forecast of Chinese tourists this year. From the expected steady recovery Therefore, it is estimated that at least 7-8 million Chinese tourists will visit Thailand this year, which is an increase from the expected at least 5 million people.
Karan Thanakuljeeraphat Director of Don Mueang Airport, Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited or AOT. Revealing the trend of passenger recovery through Don Mueang Airport, noting that the overall picture is now an average of around 70,000 passengers per day, divided into 17,500 international passengers per day. and domestic passengers 5.25 thousand people per day which is consideredhas recovered around 60% compared to the year 2019 Before the COVID-19 epidemic situation with approximately 1.1 hundred thousand passengers per day
Although the number of flights at Don Mueang Airport The latest information in February 2023 hasAn average of 450 slot booking flights per day, or a recovery of around 70% compared to 2019 Divided into 130 international flights per day and 320 domestic flights per day, the proportion of which are mainly operated by Thai airlines on domestic routes. The most frequently traveled international routes are Malaysia, India and Indonesia.
As for Chinese tourists, which used to be the main market group, Don Mueang Airport used to be number 1 before the outbreak of COVID-19, occupying about 60% of the travel share. Currently, tourists are starting to see signs of recovery. because airlines are continuously asking for flight slots at the moment haveChinese airlines have returned to service at Don Mueang Air Base, with 3 airlines serving 20 destinations including
- Juneyao airlines
- Spring Airlines
- Nine Skies (9 Skies)
“Now passengers in all markets are said to have improved. Domestic travelers are now almost the same as before COVID. In terms of international travelers, we are getting new markets. who travel to India, so if the Chinese market returns to busy travel within this year The overall picture of Don Mueang Airport is expected to return to normal passenger numbers next year.”
Karan said Don Mueang Airport is currently still waiting for the major market like China to return to busy travel. who is confident that it will start to improve this year At the same time, he still believes that in the future low-cost (low-cost) airlines will return to using Don Mueang Airport as a hub for flying to international routes short distance in destinations like Korea and Japan in about 5 hours. , which will make Don Mueang Airport Return to support the number of passengers at a level close to 40 million per year as before.
Kirati Kijmanawat, Executive Vice President (Engineering and Construction) of Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited or AOT. It was revealed that Don Mueang Airport used to be an important air hub for tour group tourists. Most recently, AOT has renovated the Service Hall building and opened it for use on February 8. to support tour group passengers, especially
in addition AOT is also accelerating plans to expand the capacity of Don Mueang Airport. This is to accommodate the number of international travelers which are expected to continue to improve this year. and will return to a normal situation around 2024 with the Assertive Outreach Team preparing to allocateCredit limit 3.6 billion baht In order to expand the capacity of Don Mueang Airport, Phase 3, the third passenger terminal, which was originally a domestic terminal, will be built. and has been disabled for a long time It will be demolished and built in a new international building. Increase service area by 1.66 hundred thousand square meters
Including refurbishing the first passenger building into a domestic passenger terminal, building 12 additional aircraft parking bays on the north side, refurbishing the old warehouse building. and improving the traffic system in and out of the Don Mueang Tollway Link Airport These projects are expected to start construction in 2024, taking about 3 years and may open for service around 2027, which will increase the capacity to accommodate passengers at Don Mueang Airport. From the current capacity to cater for around 30-40 million passengers a year to around 50 million passengers a year.
for Phase 3 of the Don Mueang Airport Project At the moment it has been approved by the Cabinet (Cabinet) AOT is in the process of hiring a detailed design (Detailed Design) It will take approximately 10 months to complete. And it can propose to the board of directors (Board) of AOT for consideration at the end of 2023. If approved, it will enter the application process to find a contractor for the construction of the project.
The signal was better than expected.of Chinese tours visiting Thailand is a good starting point to build on potentialDon Mueang Airport can be the hub of aviation or the hub of the region.
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