Airports of Thailand introduces measures to help airlines and tenants

Airports of Thailand (AoT) extended the concession of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport duty-free operator, King Power, for a further two years as part of relief measures following the recent unrest in the capital (Bangkok Post, 03-Jun-2010). King Power, which was awarded a 10-year concession in 2006, has been significantly affected by the political unrest in the nation over the past two months. AoT's board added that it has resolved to introduce five measures to help airlines and tenants of the airport which have suffered due to the political turmoil, as follows:

• 15% reduction in landing fees and a 50% reduction in parking fees for nine months from Apr-2010 to Dec-2010 on all services;
• 10% reduction in rental fees for nine months for all tenants;
• A reduction in profit sharing for businesses that signed contracts with AoT before 31-Mar-2010;
• An extension of the payment period for landing and parking fees for another four months;
• An extension of contracts for business operators operating commercial space at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports for six months to two years depending on the duration of their contracts.

AoT stated it would lose THB2.26 billion (USD69 million) in revenue in 2010 from offering such relief measures, but stated it did not expect to report a loss in 2H2010.