Traffic at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport declined during Fiscal Year 2013

BANGKOK- Airports authorities at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International airport are unlikely to regret the decision taken in October 2012 to transfer all low cost flights from AirAsia, Nok Air and Orient Thai to the old airport of Don Mueang. The move has indeed helped to relieve slightly traffic at Bangkok prime gateway as total passengers declined by 2.8 The decline was even more pronounced for total air movements, down by almost 12%.

Improvement and development of airport facilities were necessary in order to cater to the more than 50 million passengers using Suvarnabhumi Airport during fiscal year 2013; which included:

• The relocation of ticket counters at the Departure Hall (4th floor) to the 6th floor of Passenger Terminal, which will increase usable space of the Departure Hall by more than 1,000 square meters. The relocation is expected to be completed by mid-October.
• The renovation of 124 restrooms (1,498 toilets) around the Passenger Terminal has helped Suvarnabhumi Airport win the Ministry of Public Health’s Best Public Toilet of the Year 2012, passing the Health Accessibility Safety (HAS) standard requirements. Additionally, Suvarnabhumi Airport, in collaboration with SCG Building Materials (SCG), created the “World Pleasure Airports by COTTO” project to renovate 7 restrooms under the concept of “7 Wonders of Thailand”. Each location was renovated with innovative, state-of-the-art sanitary wares and environmentally friendly building materials and fixtures under individual themes of River of Life, Street Life, Flower Market, Sea Sight, Move Around, Festival and Happy Moment.
• The construction of the new Transfer Baggage Terminal, a two-storey building situated above the South Airside Tunnel between Concourses C, D and E, will increase the capability to 66 bags per minute and, therefore, help reduce the average baggage transfer time by 15 minutes (i.e. from an average of 75 to 60 minutes).
• Service development, for example, “Service Mind” seminar and training for airport personnel to support the airport slogan “Airport of Smiles”, the renovation to upgrade the appearances of the information counters, add more interpreters to include language capabilities in Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean, etc.
• The Immigration Bureau has increased its manpower at Suvarnabhumi Airport this year, from 826 to 1,029 officers, to accommodate the increase in the number of passengers and has already installed 16 automated passport control channels, with 16 more to be installed around February 2014. However, the move still seems to be insufficient as officers seem to have trouble to process passengers during peak hours with queues reaching up to 45 minutes…
• Suvarnabhumi Airport has applied strict security measures for the safety of passengers and possessions, in particular, the policy to eliminate illegal taxis and unregistered guides. Thus far, 54 cases have been filed with the Lower Court, whereby, 20 offenders have been sentenced to a jail term and the Appeal Court has prosecuted 7 offenders without parole. 
• Other improvements include the increase of facilities for the elderly and handicapped, the relocation of the VAT refund counters to Entrance 10, Departure Hall to increase the area as more passengers are claiming tax refund, refurbishment of more than 4,000 chairs (with padded cushions) in the passenger waiting areas, maintenance of runways and taxiways to maintain full capacity for service, enclosure of the connection bridges between the car park buildings and the Passenger Terminal, and the installation of automated electronic blinds for the glass roofs of the Departure Hall.

Suvarnabhumi Airport pays great importance to the welfare of the local community and the surrounding environment. Many continuous projects have been implemented throughout the year, including, book donations in support of knowledge building for the local youth, competitions involving the local schools, teachers seminar on the subject of Suvarnabhumi Airport, guided tours of Suvarnabhumi Airport for young children from the local community, Suvarnabhumi Fair to showcase local products, etc.

Regarding towards the future, Development Phase 2 is currently in the design phase, which can be separated into 3 areas:
1. Midfield Satellite 1 project: the design and construction of Midfield Satellite Terminal 1 building, including 28 contact gates, the South Airside Tunnel and Automated People Mover (APM) system.  2. The Main Passenger Terminal Expansion project: the eastward expansion of the Passenger Terminal of around 60,000 square meters, including the design and construction of the airline office and east car park buildings.
3. Utilities project: the utilities include high voltage electricity system, water supply system, cold water supply for air conditioners, etc.
The design phase is expected to be completed by February 2014, with the construction to begin in August 2014 and completion by December 2016.

Traffic at Bangkok Suvanabhumi Airport in Fiscal Year 2012 and FY 2013
Number of Passengers

Number of Flights

Cargo Volume (in tons)

Luc Citrinot

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Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.

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