Thailand moves forward to become int'l aviation hub

BANGKOK, November 15 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Transport, is moving ahead its plan on developing the Kingdom to become an international aviation hub in the foreseeable future. Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittiyapaisith told journalists on Thursday, after opening a public seminar on the trend of the Thai and the global aviation industries held on the outskirts of Bangkok, that the Thai government's move is in response to the steadily growing air travels over the past decade. Arkhom pointed out that the number of global aircraft passengers rose from about 57 million in 2008 to about 155 million in 2017, a largest number of whom were served by Thai airports for their inbound and outbound flights, prompting the government to prepare for developing the Thai Kingdom to become an international aviation hub in the foreseeable future. The minister acknowledged that as part of the move, the Thai government is developing the U-Tapao International Airport in Rayong Province to be a center of the country's aviation industry embraced in the Eastern Economic Corridor Project (EEC), setting a target that the U-Tapao International Airport will cater for about 60 million international passengers annually in the coming years. "The U-Tapao International Airport will then become Thailand's high technological and environmentall-friendly eastern aviation city, where the airport itself, a major aircraft maintenance center of Thai Airways International (THAI), the national flag carrier, and Europe-based Airbus will be located", the minister explained. However, the minister said to achieve the goal, further improved steps are needed for Thailand to meet high categorial criteria of international aviation standards set by the United States' Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). (TNA)