Thai Minister of Transport Announces Plans to Boost Flight Slots as Tourism Shows Signs of Resurgence

[webfact]

On January 12th, 2024, Mr. Suriya Juangroongruangkit, the Thai Minister of Transport, publicly revealed after the CAAT OPEN HOUSE 2024 event that there is a strong tendency for a resurgence in the tourism industry, therefore, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) needs to increase the number of flights to meet the upcoming demand.

The plan to meet the demand for more flights includes Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, and Phuket airports which are popular destinations for foreign tourists. As for the initial evaluation, CAAT could schedule flight slots up to 30% to 40% higher compared to the previous year to meet the rising demand, said the Minister of Transport.

 

CAAT was ordered to manage flight schedules in rush hours and increase the number of flight slots as it would potentially cause positive impacts to an increasing number of passengers, remarked Suriya.

 

“However, the Ministry of Transport evaluated that the current aviation situation continues to recover and soon will be back to normal, similar to before COVID-19 in 2019. It was evident that the demand to book flights, not only for Thai airlines but also international airlines, has increased in significance. The airlines could not meet the rising demand at the moment, but within the next few years, the aviation industry would expand as there would be more airplanes available for service,” said Suriya.

 

By Kittisak Phalaharn

 

Full story: THE PATTAYA NEWS 2024-01-15

 

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[flyingtlger]

50 minutes ago, webfact said:

schedule flight slots up to 30% to 40% higher compared to the previous year

Wishful thinking.....

 

 

 

[IAMHERE]

Does that mean the airports are 30% to 40% underutilized currently ?