According to the latest announcement from Airports Corporation of Thailand (AOT), the passenger service fee (PSC) for international flights will increase from 730 baht (about nearly 600,000 VND) to 1,120 baht (about more than 900,000 VND) from June 20, after being approved by the Thai Ministry of Transport.
The new fee is applied at 6 major airports managed by AOT, including Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai, Phuket and Hat Yai. Meanwhile, the domestic passenger service fee remains unchanged at 130 baht/person (about more than 100,000 VND).
This information quickly made many tourists worried that airfares to Thailand would increase sharply in the near future. Ms. Paweena Jariyathitipong - Chairman of AOT also admitted that the fee increase will certainly affect passenger flight costs.
However, Ms. Paweena said that the fee adjustment has been carefully studied according to the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and based on operating costs and actual financial assessment of the airport system.
According to previous reports, AOT expects the new fee to help increase revenue by more than 10 billion baht (about 8,170 billion VND). AOT leaders also spoke out to deny speculation that the fee increase is to compensate for revenue losses after King Power canceled the duty-free sales agreement.
Ms. Paweena affirmed that all additional revenue will be used to upgrade airport infrastructure and improve passenger experience nationwide. Among them, major expansion projects at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and Phuket airports are expected to be submitted to the Thai cabinet for approval this year.
AOT leaders also cited internal studies and from many other organizations showing that increasing passenger service fees will not significantly affect tourists' decisions to travel by air. According to Ms. Paweena, fuel prices are the biggest factor affecting airfares.
In addition to the plan to increase airport fees, the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports previously proposed to apply an additional "exit fee" of 1,000 baht to Thai citizens going abroad to support domestic tourism projects.
However, this proposal is facing reactions from the Tourism Agents Association of Thailand when many opinions suggest that the additional fee may reduce international flight demand and have a negative impact on the aviation industry.
