Phuket International Airport General Manager Thanee Chuangchoo revealed the news at an event yesterday (Oct 8) marking the 32nd anniversary of AoT operating the airport.
“We not only pay attention to our services, but also our responsibilities to society. In the fiscal year 2020, we paid B1,173,588,182 in total to households in four communities, 63 households have been paid in full and payments to 536 households are ongoing,” he said.
The compensation is a part of the sustainable development plans, under AoT’s mission to “operate and promote airport business including other businesses related to or affiliated with the airport business by taking into consideration sustainable development,” he added.
Mr Thanee also noted that from Oct 1 last year to Sept 30 this year, 59,647 flights had arrived and departed from the airport, a decrease of 48.73% compared with the year before.
This included 30,222 international flights, a decrease of 52.38%, and 29,425 domestic flights, a decrease of 43.49%, he said.
The flights carried 9,089,577 passengers in total, a decrease of 49.09% on the previous year, he added.
Of those, 5,126,522 passengers travelled on international flights, a decrease of 50.34%, and 3,963,055 passengers travelled on domestic flights, a decrease of 47.39%, Mr Thanee noted.
On the bright side, Mr Thanee pointed out that the budget for fiscal 2020 had paid for a new checking-in hall for passengers who come as tour groups.
“As an urgent project in AoT’s airport development, the hall was purposed to reduce the congestion of passengers in the international flight terminal,” he said.
“Phuket International Airport will keep developing in order to achieve the goal to welcome 18 million tourists per year,” Mr Thanee assured.
“To welcome tourists with a Special Tourist Visa (STV), we have prepared disease control measures and cooperated with the local government. We have a [COVID-19] test lab and mobile labs to test tourists when the country is re-opened,” he said.