The Prime Minister is determined to push Thailand to become a regional “Aviation Hub”.

"Government spokesman" reveals that the Prime Minister is determined to drive Thailand towards becoming a regional aviation hub. The Ministry of Transport aims to push Thai airports to be ranked among the world's top 20 airports in 2029, and aims to accommodate 210 million passengers in 2034. Mr. Chai Wachirong, the government spokesman, revealed that Mr. Settha Thavisin, the Prime Minister, aims to develop the potential of Thai airports, raise the standards, services and safety of air transport to international standards in order to push the Thai aviation industry towards the goal of becoming the aviation hub of the region. He also ordered the Ministry of Transport to create an efficient operational plan to support the growth of air transport and increase flights to their full potential in line with the Prime Minister's vision. Mr. Chai stated that Mr. Suriya Juangroongruangkit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, has responded to the policies in accordance with the Prime Minister's vision by creating an operational plan to increase efficiency in supporting the growth of Thailand's air transportation in all dimensions. He is confident that with continuous progress, Thailand will follow the aviation standards of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA CAT1) and will be able to open services, add flights, or add new destinations in the United States and other countries that use the FAA's aviation standards. Mr. Chai also said that with the potential, resources and readiness of the country, the Ministry of Transport has moved forward with the plan to expand the capacity of the airport and develop infrastructure to accommodate tourists. This has helped push Suvarnabhumi Airport to be one of the 58 best airports in the world (World's Best Airport) in 2024, moving up 10 places from 68th in 2023, while Don Mueang Airport was ranked in the top 10 best low-cost airports in the world (World's Best Low-Cost Airline Terminals) in 2024. Suvarnabhumi Airport is currently being developed to increase passenger capacity by another 81,000 square meters and prepare for the opening of the third runway in September 2024 to accommodate 94 flights per hour from 68 flights per hour. In addition, by 2029, the goal is to push Thai airports to be ranked among the world's top 20 airports, able to accommodate approximately 170 million passengers and 1 million flights, and by 2034, able to accommodate approximately 210 million passengers and 1.2 million flights. Data from the Ministry of Transport also showed that the passenger statistics between October 2023 and May 2024 showed a total of 81.05 million passengers traveling in and out of Thailand's airports, a recovery of 83.4 percent compared to 2019 before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was divided into 48.95 million international passengers and 32.09 million domestic passengers. There were a total of 490,970 flights, a recovery of 80.9 percent compared to 2019, divided into 274,410 international flights and 216,560 domestic flights. 'The Prime Minister is dete rmined to develop Thai airports in line with the Aviation Hub vision, elevating the potential of Thai airports for the convenience of service users, moving forward with the integration of cooperation from all agencies involved in the aviation business, expanding the capacity of Thai airports with the goal of reaching world-class airports, being able to accommodate flights and passengers from all over the world, in order to push Thailand towards becoming a world-class aviation hub, answering all travel purposes, confident that it will be able to increase money into Thailand, expanding opportunities for the country,' said Mr. Chai. Source: Thai News Agency