Air passengers surpass year-ago figure

PHUKET: Heartening news for the low season comes with the latest monthly figures issued by Phuket International Airport. These show an 8.73% rise in passengers using the airport, compared with June 1999. The statistics show that 208,426 passengers went through the airport in June of this year, compared with 191,698 in the same month last year. Due primarily to an increase in the number of direct flights to and from Phuket, the number of passengers on domestic flights increased by 9.44% to 118,103, while international traffic rose 7.81% to 90,323. On the other hand, cargo throughput during the month decreased significantly compared with June of last year. International shipments decreased 6.64% to 703 tons, while domestic shipments fell 19.35% to 600 tons.