Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) has dismissed online news reports accusing it of looking to raise the airport service charge for departing passengers on domestic flights.
Nitinai: 'Charges will stay the same'
The AoT will maintain the same rate of 100 baht per person on domestic flights and 700 baht per passenger on international flights, its president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said yesterday.
He was responding to a media report claiming the AoT planned to increase the passenger service charge to 300 baht on domestic flights in an attempt to offset losses resulting from the high operating costs at airports handling domestic flights.
The report claimed the largest cost was AoT's investment in installing airport security systems and luggage-scanning technology.
But Mr Nitinai denied any such proposal to raise the service charge was being submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.
The current charges -- usually included in the price of the ticket -- have been in place since 2006 when Suvarnabhumi airport first opened, said Mr Nitinai.
Revenue gained through collecting the charges is spent on improving and maintaining security for the AoT's six airports so safety is up to international standards, he said.
Money earned from collecting the service charge had been spent on the construction of buildings at AoT airports, boosting their capacity and developing technology, he said.
This will in the end benefit all passengers using AoT airports in terms of safety and convenience, he said.
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