Flag carrier Thai Airways International said Friday Bangkok's new international airport, set to open later this month, would help the airline cut more than 26 million dollars in fuel costs a year.
Currently, arrival planes have to spend 10 to 15 minutes taxiing during busy times at the existing Don Muang airport, which is serving an above-capacity 38.5 million passengers a year.
But Thai Airways president Apinan Sumanaseni said the new airport has much more space to accommodate all flights, which would cut down on taxiing time and save on fuel expenses.
"After moving to the new airport, we could save over one billion baht (26 million dollars), which accounts for one or two percent of our total oil expense a year," Apinan said. Amid soaring global oil prices, Thai Airways said last month its fuel costs in the three months to June jumped 21.1 percent year-on-year to 14.8 billion baht.
On Friday, Thai Airways staged four international test flights at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, carrying some 1,200 passengers. The airport is scheduled to open on September 28.
Suvarnabhumi, or "golden land", has become notorious for its delays. The project has been in the works for four decades, but has been hit by a series of construction problems and graft allegations.