The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned of the need to expand Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (SVB) to ensure it heads off a shortage of capacity and enable it to continue to serve as an efficient, major hub and not lose out to other regional air hubs. “Thai authorities should recognise that aviation is a key enabler of travel and tourism and contributes substantially to the Thai economy and employment. Thailand needs to urgently
build new terminal and runway capacity at Suvarnabhumi to ensure it remains one of the region’s top hubs,” IATA said in a statement.
Suvarnabhumi opened in 2006 but is already overcrowded, with close to 50 million passengers using the airport each year while the stated capacity is 45 million a year. Airlines and the travelling public have been frustrated by congestion at the airport, which is
only getting worse as traffic grows and as expansion programmes are the delayed by political uncertainty.
According to an Oxford Economics study commissioned by IATA, aviation contributed THB139 billion (US$4.48 billion) to the Thai GDP, or 1.5 per cent of the total, through the output of airlines, airports, ground services, their supply chains and the spending of those employed in the sector and in the supply chains. This number rises to THB818 billion or 9 per cent of GDP when its
contribution to the tourism sector was factored in.
“These urgent expansion projects must done in full consultation with the airline users to ensure that costs and design are in line with the needs of those that will pay the bill – the airlines,” IATA
said, cautioning against the duplication Bangkok’s former airport, Don Muang.
“Don Muang can fulfil a vital role of relief capacity in the short term. But the long-term solution is a single strong hub for Bangkok at Suvarnabhumi,” it said, because one major hub allows for more
convenient connections and improves efficiency as airlines do not need to support duplicate infrastructure.