The Transport Ministry and aviation bodies aim to establish Thailand as an aviation hub, emphasising maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) to meet international demand in the region.
“We must establish our own full-scale MRO, otherwise neighbouring countries such as Singapore will reap all the aviation benefits,” said Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn at the “Skyconomy” seminar co-hosted by Bualuang Securities this week.
He said Thailand is located near the two most populous nations, India and China, and serves as a gateway to Indochina, underlining its strong potential to become an aviation hub.
The US Federal Aviation Administration recently upgraded Thailand’s ranking back to Category 1 from Category 2, allowing Thai carriers and Thai pilots to return to the US, while United Airlines resumed its service to Thailand last week after an 11-year hiatus.
Thailand passed the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme with a preliminary score of 91.4%, exceeding the global average of 70.5%, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT).
Mr Phiphat said the ministry plans to attract airlines to fly to less-crowded airports, such as Krabi and Chiang Mai, as the major airports of Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and Phuket face congestion.
To make Thailand a hub, it needs more transit traffic and airports with better-equipped facilities for airlines, said CAAT director-general ACM Manat Chavanaprayoon.
ACM Manat said Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT) has developed a new master plan for Suvarnabhumi airport, including a south terminal, MRO facility, cargo distribution centre, private jet terminal and a training centre for pilots, crew and technicians to support the industry.
A free zone is envisioned for Boeing and Airbus to establish aircraft spare parts stock centres, enabling urgent equipment changes to be made at the Thailand hub.
In addition, AOT’s proposal to raise the passenger service charge from 730 baht to fund airport development will be considered and approved soon, he said.
The CAAT is also coordinating with neighbouring countries such as Vietnam to jointly promote international aviation and attract foreign tourists to Southeast Asia.
Chai Eamsiri, chief executive of Thai Airways, said Thailand has room to improve in connecting traffic as it aims to catch up with Singapore, which has 30-40% connecting passengers. Thai Airways has 22% connecting passengers, up from 6% in 2023, he said.
Mr Chai said connecting passengers represent an opportunity to increase revenue, and the airline has been increasing this segment through a network strategy, offering long-haul flights to Southeast Asia via its Bangkok hub.
Next year, the airline expects to grow its fleet to 103 aircraft, up from 77. The expansion includes 17 narrow-body aircraft and four wide-body 787-9 aircraft.
Thai Airways is also co-investing in an MRO facility with Bangkok Airways at U-tapao airport worth 10 billion baht.
RISING AVIATION TECH
Thailand could be developed as a regional aviation hub by leveraging its core strengths, including its geographical advantage and adoption of aviation technology, Sithidej Mayalarp, chief executive of SET-listed aviation tech company SKY ICT, said at the seminar.
He urged the government and related agencies to promote aviation hub development by easing regulatory conditions for increasing domestic flight destinations, as well as promoting more facilities and the adoption of automation such as artificial intelligence technology.
Mr Sithidej said the domestic and global outlook for passengers and the aviation industry this year is improved from last year.
Despite the sluggish economy, the number of tourists globally for the first nine months this year declined around 6% year-on-year.
However, the volume of global passengers for the period soared 4.8% year-on-year.
More importantly, starting last month Chinese tourists started returning to Thailand after a two-year decline, he said.
Mr Sithidej said SKY ICT provides aviation tech solutions for 13 airports nationwide. The company upgraded the pre-boarding Common Use Passenger Processing System for those airports to support the influx of tourists.
He said the aviation technology at Thai airports is not inferior to those at rival airports, such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Incheon in South Korea.