THE proposal by Thailand's Ministry of Transport to build a third runway at Bangkok International Airport (BKK) at a cost of US$660 million has been approved by the nation's cabinet. Construction of the new runway is expected to start this year and be finished by 2022.
The third runway, which will be located parallel to the airport's western runway, will raise the airport's present two-runway capacity from 63 to 94 flights per hour, in an effort to ease congestion and turn the airport into a cargo hub for Southeast Asia, according to the Bangkok Post.
While BKK handles a significant amount of cargo and is ranked in 21st place on Cargo Airport News' top 25 busiest cargo airports list, the airport is experiencing greater congestion, which could negatively impact growth and deter air cargo providers looking to expand their operations in Southeast Asia.
The airport's cargo volume fell by 5.6 per cent to 1.5 million tonnes in 2018. This drop has continued into 2019, with the airport registering a 10.2 per cent year-on-year decline in freight for January and February combined.
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The third runway, which will be located parallel to the airport's western runway, will raise the airport's present two-runway capacity from 63 to 94 flights per hour, in an effort to ease congestion and turn the airport into a cargo hub for Southeast Asia, according to the Bangkok Post.
While BKK handles a significant amount of cargo and is ranked in 21st place on Cargo Airport News' top 25 busiest cargo airports list, the airport is experiencing greater congestion, which could negatively impact growth and deter air cargo providers looking to expand their operations in Southeast Asia.
The airport's cargo volume fell by 5.6 per cent to 1.5 million tonnes in 2018. This drop has continued into 2019, with the airport registering a 10.2 per cent year-on-year decline in freight for January and February combined.
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