Turmoil Hits Suvarnabhumi Airport Traffic

March 26, 2014
It was Suvarnabhumi's first contraction since its September 2006 opening.

March 24--Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi stood out as the only airport in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East to see a contraction in passenger traffic for January.

The 4.1% drop in international passenger throughput at Thailand's gateway airport is attributed by Airports Council International (ACI) to the declaration of a state of emergency in the capital and surrounding provinces on Jan 22.

The declaration led many foreign countries to advise their citizens against travelling to the politically troubled kingdom.

It was Suvarnabhumi's first contraction since its September 2006 opening.

According to ACI, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East made a good start in 2014, recording robust 10.7% year-on-year growth in passenger traffic in January.

Almost all airports registered a positive result compared with January 2013, the global airport trade body said.

More than half of airports in the region recorded double-digit growth in the month, partly due to the Chinese New Year holiday falling on Jan 31, whereas it started in February in last year.

The airport with the highest growth was China's Hangzhou (34.3%). Taiwan's Kaohsiung, China's Chengdu, Kuala Lumpur, Chiang Mai and Bangkok's Don Mueang all recorded growth of more than 20%.

For air cargo traffic, Asia-Pacific airports recorded a 3.8% year-on-year increase in January, slightly more than the 3.7% recorded by their Middle Eastern counterparts. Nagoya in Japan was the airport with the highest growth in January, recording a 51.7% jump.

In the meanwhile, preliminary figures from Airports of Thailand Plc showed a contraction for passenger traffic at Suvarnabhumi in the first two months of this year as the political turmoil worsened in February.

Aggregate passenger throughput shrank 6.25% from last year to 8.27 million, heavily weighed down by diminishing international passenger volumes.

International passenger traffic fell 8.45% to 6.63 million, while domestic volume rose 3.88% to 1.63 million.

Copyright 2014 - Bangkok Post, Thailand