Thailand: Domestic air travel shrinks in 2021

The recent Covid-19 outbreak has seen Thailand's domestic air travel drop by 60% since the start of the year, says the Department of Airports (DoA). The figures were drawn from 20 airports supervised by the DoA nationwide, according to Apirat Chaiwongnoi, acting director-general of the department. Domestic passengers passing through the 20 airports also plunged from an average 30,000 a day before the New Year to 12,000, he said. The number of aircraft in the sky also fell. Before the long New Year weekend, 160 flights operated into and out of the 20 airports on average each day. After the holidays, flights were down 40% to 100 per day on average. The big reduction in demand has forced airlines to scale back their flights. Some airlines also asked the department to extend remedial measures, including landing fee discounts, which expired on Dec 31. Apirat said details of the help to be offered will be put up for discussion soon.<br/>