Phuket Airport ramps up for 18 million passengers by 2025

Phuket International Airport is gearing up for a major overhaul as it plans to handle a whopping 18 million passengers by 2025. Airports of Thailand (AoT) is fast-tracking Phase 2 of its expansion, boosting flight capacity from 20 to 25 flights per hour to keep up with the influx of tourists.

Airport director Monchai Tanod revealed that the airport currently serves 60 airlines, managing 260 to 280 flights daily.

“During the high season, flight numbers are expected to soar to 300 daily,” he said, noting that European travellers will make up a significant portion of the arrivals.

With Chinese tourists leading the pack, followed by Russians and Indians, Phuket remains a favourite for international holidaymakers. While the number of Chinese visitors has rebounded to about 60% of pre-Covid figures, European visitors have returned to 85% of previous levels.

Domestic flights are also on the rise, with airlines striving to fill more seats. However, Monchai doesn’t foresee reaching the 2019 high season peak, when the airport handled 400 flights and 60,000 passengers per day.

In an exciting development, Phuket is set to welcome its first direct flights from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with chartered flights from the Middle East already fully booked. Monchai expects strong demand from Saudi tourists to continue.

With 16 million passengers passing through the airport this year — a 21.2% increase from the previous year — the expansion couldn’t come at a better time. The upcoming development, with a budget of 6 billion baht, will ease terminal congestion and increase capacity. Construction is slated to start in late 2025, ensuring Phuket is ready to meet its ambitious passenger targets, reported Bangkok Post.

In related news, Phuket aims to boost its tourism revenue to 500 billion baht in the latter half of this year by implementing policies targeted at high-end tourists.

Rewat Areerob, President of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO), announced the revised revenue goal, which had previously been set at 420 billion baht (US$12.6 billion).