Airports of Thailand shares jumped 4% to a one-month high on reports of higher Passenger Service Charges, though details later clarified the increase would start modestly before gradually rising, tempering initial investor excitement.
The share price of Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (SET: AOT) rose 4% to THB 40.00 per share, the highest level since mid-August. A sharp surge came near the closing bell on the report that the new implementation of Passenger Service Charges (PSC) would be collected at the rate not exceeding THB 100 per passenger, a significant rise from earlier reports. However, sources close to the matter told Kaohoon that the report was slightly misled by the fact that the authorities will consider increasing the fee by THB 5 per passenger in the beginning before gradually increasing it to THB 100 or beyond.
It was reported earlier that Manat Chavanaprayoon, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), said that CAAT is preparing to propose a new fee collection scheme to the Civil Aviation Board (CAB) within October 2025. The aim is for the fee collection to reflect the actual costs and to strengthen financial stability in operations related to aviation safety and standards.
In the past, CAAT was able to collect only one type of fee, which was an international travel fee, set at only THB 15 per person, while the actual cost is as high as THB 23. This has resulted in CAAT’s revenues continually declining, even though the number of passengers has increased.
To address this problem, CAAT is preparing to raise the fee to THB 25 per person, and expand the scope to cover three more categories: airport landing fees, air cargo service fees, and aviation fuel charges, which have never been collected before.
Additionally, there is a proposal to increase Passenger Service Charges (PSC), or airport charges, with international departing passengers being charged an additional amount from THB 730 to THB 735, and domestic passengers from THB 130 to THB 135. This will take effect in October 2025.
CAAT also stated that the PSC rate in Thailand is still considered low compared to other countries. For example, Singapore charges approximately THB 1,400 per passenger per flight. Therefore, the new rate adjustment is necessary to reflect the true costs, and to bring revenue back for development of infrastructure, services, and the safety of Thai airports to be on par with international standards.
