The Ministry of Transport has made a U-turn on an earlier decision to hand over all state-run airports across the country to the Airports of Thailand Plc.
Deputy Transport Minister Manaporn Chroensri said in a recent exclusive interview with Daily News that the Department of Airports, which is under her supervision, decided to keep local airports with the agency, instead of transferring them in phases to AoT.
A department official on Friday confirmed to the Bangkok Post the statement attributed to the deputy minister the day before.
The move is a complete reversal of a policy that called for AoT to ultimately take full control of 28 out of 29 airports now under the administration of the department.
The transfer was to start with airports in Krabi, Udon Thani and Buri Ram. The government led by then-prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha agreed in principle on the change at a cabinet meeting on Aug 30, 2023.
Mae Sot airport in Tak province was not on the transfer list.
The Transport Ministry at the time was controlled by the Bhumjaithai Party but it is now overseen by the Pheu Thai Party.
Ms Manaporn said keeping all provincial airports under full state control would benefit the country as they could promote the local economy and tourism. But the department needed to seek better ways to develop them to ensure they could stand on their own feet financially rather than relying on aid from taxpayers.
The department suffered 80 million baht in losses from operating 29 airports in the fiscal year ending in September last year. Krabi was its most profitable airport last year earning 180 million baht. Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani each earned 40 million baht and Udon Thani earned 30 million baht, according to the deputy minister.
However, their profits were used to subsidise other money-losing local airports. Most airports operated by the department are not profitable.
SET-listed AoT manages six international airports: Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hat Yai and Mae Fah Luang-Chiang Rai. The Ministry of Finance holds 70% of its shares, with the remaining 30% held by institutional and retail investors.
For the 2024 fiscal year that ended last Sept 30, AoT reported a net profit of 19.18 billion baht, an increase from 8.18 billion in 2023. Net profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to Dec 31 was 5.3 billion baht, an increase of 17.1% from the same period a year earlier.
AoT shares have dropped again in recent days and analysts linked the decline to the transfer issue. The shares closed on Friday at 40.25 baht, down 25 satang or 0.62% from Thursday.