!
Latest updates
kiwi Guarantee Book now and get protection against cancelations that would wouldn't get if you booked direct
Chiang Mai's Food Odyssey: Street Eats to Gourmet Feasts
Bangkok Airways to Resurrect Vital Flight Routes to Northern Thailand
Thai Vietjet Air: Exclusive May Offers for FUN Rewards Members
Hua Hin Airport anticipates surge in international flights after expansion
No more flights to Mae Hong Son
Really Cool Airlines to launch in December (Really!)
6 Steps to Grabbing Cheap Flights - DomesticFlightsThailand
Getting Around Bangkok
Koh Lanta: A Hidden Treasure Near Krabi
Sea, Sand, and Surf in Thailand: Top 5 Spots
All news
More travel guides
Don Mueang Airport to Increase Capacity by 2016
23rd Mar 2013
With the completion of the ongoing expansion work in Don Mueang Airport's Terminal 2 in 2016, it will be able to handle up to 27.5 million passengers per year, this according to the airport official in a recent interview.
According to the airport Director Paranee Wattanotai, the airport is being groomed to become the hub for budget carriers in the region as it is expected to absorb the growing demand for air traffic to Thailand, along with Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Thailand's two major airports, both based in Bangkok, are projected to handle the bulk of the passenger traffic into the country by 2016 with a combined total of 87.5 million.
The aircraft movement in the old airport significantly increased following the transfer of AirAsia from its former hub in Suvarnabhumi in October last year, registering 54,694 flights for the first five months ending February 2013. Of that figure, 15,283 were international flights and 39,411 were domestic.
Flight movement of Don Mueang will hit the 153,000 mark by the end of the year transporting a total of 16.9 million passengers.
The decision to move all budget airlines to the old airport arose when budget travelers at the new airport hit the 16 million mark last year.
According to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, she is pushing the country to become the regional aviation hub for low-cost airlines and promised to expand provincial airports where air travel demand are high.
The government reconsidered its earlier decision to close the old airport from commercial aviation after the five-year old Suvarnabhumi Airport reached its capacity in 2011 and has since been operating way above its capacity for over a year now. The old airport closed operations briefly for renovations following the opening of the Suvarnabhumi Airport in 2006. It reopened in March 2007 after renovations were done.
The Bangkok deluge in 2011 inundated the old Don Mueang Airport that caused its temporary closure. After a few months, however, the Airports of Thailand hastened its rehabilitation as the new airport has been operating beyond its capacity already. By March 2012, the old airport reopened again.
Don Mueang was able to attract most of the budget carriers to move their operations from Suvarnabhumi after the government dangled incentives to lure them back.
Thailand is currently investing heavily on public infrastructures to improve its competitiveness, particularly in transport services, as part of a massive development program it is implementing this year and beyond. A total of 55 projects worth $76.27 billion are lined up until 2020, of which $3.3B is allocated for 2013.
According to an official data from Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the country received a record 22 million foreign visitors in 2012 or 15.98% over 2011 figure.
Related News
Thai Vietjet Air: Exclusive May Offers for FUN Rewards Members
Hua Hin Airport anticipates surge in international flights after expansion
