The number of passengers passing through six airports operated by the Airports of Thailand (AoT) dropped by 21 million in the first seven months of this year, it said, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expecting the slump to persist through next year.
The figures, which were released by the AoT on Monday, showed a huge decline in passenger numbers across its airports when compared to the previous year's figures.
In total, 8.6 million passengers passed through six international airports under its management, namely Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai and Phuket, between January and July this year -- down 71.5% compared to the same period last year.
Out of the 8.6 million figure, only 551,000 were passengers on international flights -- a 96% drop compared to the same period last year -- while the rest were domestic passengers.
Don Mueang airport saw the most passengers this year with about 3 million passing through its gates between January-July this year, representing a drop of about 67% from last year -- followed by Suvarnabhumi at 2.82 million (-77%), Chiang Mai at 880,000 (-65%), Phuket at 823,000 (-79%), Hat Yai at 734,000 (-31%) and Chiang Rai at 378,000 (-51%).
In terms of aircraft movements, the six airports combined handled a total 123,000 flights in the first seven months of this year, which marked a decrease of 47% from last year's figure for the same period. International flights, meanwhile, saw a 63% reduction, down to 39,900 in the same period.
Low-cost carriers carried 6.6 million passengers between January and July -- down 59% from last year, according to AoT.
In total, the six airports reported a drop of 21 million passengers in the first seven months of this year, compared to the same period last year.
Separately, IATA released the results of its survey of CFOs of passenger airlines and cargo operators last week, which showed the majority of respondents (52%) believed demand for air transport won't recover to 2019 levels until 2023.
That said, the second quarter of this year brought airlines some relief as the demand for air travel has started to slowly recover in some markets. The survey suggested the North American market will lead the demand rebound, while African markets will be the last to recover.
The survey's respondents were also more optimistic about the future of air travel demand and profitability.
