Evaluating operational efficiency of airports in Thailand with special reference to low cost traffic

The traffic of Low Cost Airline (LCA) model is burgeoning and growth has now become all pervasive across globe expanding in Europe, Oceania, South America, Asia and Australia. This eventually brings the paradigm shift in aviation business. It is also mandating the change in the business operations of airport operator, which specifically addresses the needs of LCA traffic. In Thailand first LCA started in December 2003 and by 2015 LCA holds 41% of market share and expected to have unprecedented growth in future. The growth of LCA in Thailand has also mandated change in airport operations. However, comparatively, little analysis has been done to evaluate the operational efficiency of the airport in Thailand in parlance to growth of LCA traffic. Hence this paper measures the Operational Efficiency and facilitating the managerial implications to enhance it. Data Envelopment Analysis has been employed to measure the efficiency of six major airports in Thailand covering approximately 87% of total passenger traffic. It has been observed that total passenger enplanements and aircraft movements are contributing significantly in the efficiency scores. The terminal efficiencies of the airports examined are higher than airside efficiencies. It is concluded that the efficiency of airports depends on LCA demands and its characteristics.