PHUKET airport will be handling 36 extra flights in the three-day Songkran festival for about 8028 passengers, says general manager Wing Commander Wicha Nurnlop.
The boost comes as the latest arrival and departure figures from Phuket reflect the bleak period beween October 2008 and March 2009.
But first, the good news: Khun Wicha told Phuketwan that between April 12-15, Thai Airways has added 16 additional flights, Korean Air has 10 extra flights, Silkair six flights from Singapore, and Dragon Air four from Hong Kong.
Nok Air is also adding a third flight between Bangkok and Phuket indefinitely from April 10, with fights leaving the island at 10.10am and 3.35pm daily, and 8.35pm on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Usually the airport handles 110 flights and 17600 passengers each day.
And now, the not so good news: The number of flights between October 2008 and March 2009 fell by 19.61 percent, with domestic dropping by 26.94 percent and international by 10.02 percent.
In terms of passengers, the total fell by 15.07 percent, with the fall in domestic traffic amounting to 18.22 percent and in international flights, 10.91 percent.
The slide in passenger numbers for March alone was 14.26 percent. On the bright side, this was a sharp improvement on the dip of 22.87 percent in February.
In terms of people numbers, a total of 2,961,654 passengers arrived or departed Phuket between October 2008 and March 2009, compared to 3,487,086 in the similar 2007-2008 period.
Cargo was also down 15.21 percent in the October-March period.
While the boost of Songkran-Easter flights will probably help this year's April figure to a more reasonable level, the outlook for May and beyond remains bleak.
What the figures do not show is the dramatic reduction in spending by each tourist. In effect, traveller numbers have returned to 2007 levels.
But today's tourists are spending far less. So in terms of the Phuketwan time machine, Phuket's economy may actually be somewhere back in 2006, when the region was still recovering from the tsunami.
However, there is some almost good news: comparisons with last year's numbers are likely to improve because the economic downturn and turbulence in Thai politics began to push down numbers around this time last year.
Aircraft movements for Q1 2008 were 13.60 percent up on 2007. By the end of Q2, that increase had slumped to 1.24 percent.
By the end of Q3, the downturn was in play with a fall of 22.34 percent taking place, largely thanks to the Phuket airport blockade.
The Q4 2008 decline in aircraft movements was 19.91 percent.
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The boost comes as the latest arrival and departure figures from Phuket reflect the bleak period beween October 2008 and March 2009.
But first, the good news: Khun Wicha told Phuketwan that between April 12-15, Thai Airways has added 16 additional flights, Korean Air has 10 extra flights, Silkair six flights from Singapore, and Dragon Air four from Hong Kong.
Nok Air is also adding a third flight between Bangkok and Phuket indefinitely from April 10, with fights leaving the island at 10.10am and 3.35pm daily, and 8.35pm on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Usually the airport handles 110 flights and 17600 passengers each day.
And now, the not so good news: The number of flights between October 2008 and March 2009 fell by 19.61 percent, with domestic dropping by 26.94 percent and international by 10.02 percent.
In terms of passengers, the total fell by 15.07 percent, with the fall in domestic traffic amounting to 18.22 percent and in international flights, 10.91 percent.
The slide in passenger numbers for March alone was 14.26 percent. On the bright side, this was a sharp improvement on the dip of 22.87 percent in February.
In terms of people numbers, a total of 2,961,654 passengers arrived or departed Phuket between October 2008 and March 2009, compared to 3,487,086 in the similar 2007-2008 period.
Cargo was also down 15.21 percent in the October-March period.
While the boost of Songkran-Easter flights will probably help this year's April figure to a more reasonable level, the outlook for May and beyond remains bleak.
What the figures do not show is the dramatic reduction in spending by each tourist. In effect, traveller numbers have returned to 2007 levels.
But today's tourists are spending far less. So in terms of the Phuketwan time machine, Phuket's economy may actually be somewhere back in 2006, when the region was still recovering from the tsunami.
However, there is some almost good news: comparisons with last year's numbers are likely to improve because the economic downturn and turbulence in Thai politics began to push down numbers around this time last year.
Aircraft movements for Q1 2008 were 13.60 percent up on 2007. By the end of Q2, that increase had slumped to 1.24 percent.
By the end of Q3, the downturn was in play with a fall of 22.34 percent taking place, largely thanks to the Phuket airport blockade.
The Q4 2008 decline in aircraft movements was 19.91 percent.
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