Thailand airports to cut airline fees

Airports of Thailand (AoT) will reduce airline landing and parking fees by 20 per cent, in a new attempt to improve tourist arrivals after the industry was hit severely by the closure of Bangkok’s two main airports at the end of last November, the organization’s president said.

The government-controlled airports operator, responsible for six airports in Thailand, will run the programme from the first of February through the end of September, at a revenue loss of approximately 400 million baht, added Serirat Prasutanont, speaking on behalf of AoT late Wednesday.

This campaign is one part of a new government plan aimed at boosting visitor numbers and restoring the important tourism industry, after international arrivals plummeted when anti-government protesters closed Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueng airports for over a week late last year.

Hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors were stranded in Thailand due to the cancellation of hundreds of flights during the seizure, damaging the country’s vital tourism industry that accounts for as much as six per cent of the GDP.

For its financial year ending 30 September, AoT posted revenue of 22 billion baht, with net profits of 7.32 billion baht.

www.airportthai.co.th