Suvarnabhumi airport expects to see traffic surge nearly 20% over the next six months on the back of strong high-season travel demand, turning it into one of Asia's busiest airports.
A total of 24.8 million passengers are expected to pass through the country's gateway airport between Oct 25 and March 26 next year, representing an 18% rise year-on-year.
Combined aircraft movements through the airport, based on airlines' notifications, are projected to leap in tandem by 19% to 149,000, according to Suvarnabhumi operator Airports of Thailand Plc.
Six additional airlines have made Suvarnabhumi their port of call in the period, bringing the total number of airlines operating through the airport to 124.
International passenger traffic through Suvarnabhumi is expected to increase by 15% to 20.6 million.
Domestic passenger volume in the period, classified as winter by the airline industry, will jump by 34% to 4.1 million.
Visitors from Hong Kong and Singapore will become top international arrivals at Suvarnabhumi, respectively constituting 6.5% and 5.5% of the tally in the period, Suvarnabhumi general manager Sirote Duangratan said.
Three of the new airline entrants have never flown to Thailand -- Chongqing Airlines from China, Eurowings from Germany, Mega Maldives Airlines from the Maldives -- while Thai Vietjet Air is expanding its operations.
Chongqing Airlines operates three flights a week from Chongqing, Eurowings twice a week non-stop from Cologne and Mega Maldives Airlines four times a week on the Male-Suvarnabhumi-Shenyang route.
Thai Vietjet Air, registered in Thailand, operates 35 flights a week on a charter basis to India and Vietnam, in addition to offering domestic services to Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phuket and U-tapao.
Suvarnabhumi's robust traffic growth primarily reflects the full recovery of Thailand's tourism industry following the May 2014 coup. It also reflects the resumption of the airport's previous growth rates, which will heighten congestion at the airport.