AOT Unveils Measures to Help Lowering Expenses for Concessionaires at All 6 Airports

Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) has announced the assistance measures for concessionaires affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak at all six airports under AOT’s supervision.

The AOT Board of Directors, in the Meeting No. 5/2020 held on Wednesday, 22 April 2020 at AOT Board of Directors Meeting Room, 7th Floor, AOT Head Office Building, resolved to approve assistance measures for concessionaires and airlines affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak at airports under AOT’s supervision to mitigate impacts of the decline in flight and passenger numbers on the concessionaires and airlines, and to be in line with the government policies. Details are as follows:

 

1) Assistance measures for concessionaires and airlines regarding office and state property rents, terminal and building service charges and fixed monthly concession charges:

1.1) In case that the concessionaires and airlines submit a letter to temporarily suspend their operations or that AOT’s airports are temporarily closed, AOT will exempt the collection of office and state property rents, terminal and building service charges and fixed monthly concession charges for 9 months, from 1 April to 31 December 2020 or until the date the concessionaires and airlines inform their resumption of operations, whichever comes first.

1.2) In case of the concessionaires and airlines who still operate at airports under AOT’s supervision:

1.2.1) Offer a 50% reduction in office and state property rents for all tenants for 9 months, from 1 April to 31 December 2020.

1.2.2) Collect terminal and building service charges at the rate of 15% of office and state property rents which have been reduced by 50%.

1.2.3) Apply the rates of office and state property rents and terminal and building service charges prescribed in the List of Rate of Charges for the Use of AOT’s Airports, Properties, Services and Other Facilities Issue 2016 for the calculation of reductions under items 1.2.1 and 1.2.2

 

2) Assistance measures for airlines regarding the collection of charges pursuant to the law on air navigation.

2.1) In case that the airlines request for suspended operations or that the airports under AOT’s supervision are temporarily closed, AOT will exempt parking charges for 9 months, from 1 April to 31 December 2020, provided that the exemption of such charges must be approved by the Minister of Transport.

2.2) Offer a 50% reduction in landing charges and a 50% reduction in parking charges for airlines that are still operating flights on all domestic and international routes for 9 months, from 1 April to 31 December 2020.

2.3) In case of charter flights, they shall be eligible for such assistance measures from 1 May 2020 onwards.

2.4) Airlines participating in the incentive scheme or AOT’s assistance measures shall benefit from only one support item of the same kind that offers them maximum benefits.

 

3) Offer a 6-month credit term of payment for office and state property rents, terminal and building service charges, landing and parking charges and aircraft service charges for the concessionaires and airlines for each of the 9 monthly installments, during April – December 2020, only if requested by the concessionaires and airlines.

 

4) Extend a 6-month credit term of payment for concession charges to the concessionaires, pursuant to the Board of Directors’ resolution No. 3/2020 dated 19 February 2020, for previously each of the 6 monthly installments (February – July 2020) to each of the 11 monthly installments (August – December 2020), only if requested by the concessionaires and airlines.

 

5) Adjust the rates of fixed concession charges and minimum guarantees for commercial activities operated at airports under AOT’s supervision after completion of assistance measures for the concessionaires pursuant to the AOT Board of Directors Meeting’s resolution No. 3/2020 held on Wednesday, 19 February 2020 (31 March 2022) as follows:

5.1) For concessionaires receiving operator licenses granted by AOT in writing or signing agreements and entering operational areas before or within 19 February 2020, or existing concessionaires renewing their agreements with AOT during the period where assistance measures for the concessionaires and airlines take effect, the rates of fixed concession charges and/or minimum guarantees of the year before adopting the assistance measures for concessionaires and airlines (year 2019) shall apply to determine the rates of fixed concession charges and/or minimum guarantees.

5.2) For concessionaires receiving operator licenses granted by AOT in writing or already signing agreements but not yet entering operational areas before or within 19 February 2020, the rates of fixed concession charges and/or minimum guarantees proposed by the concessionaires in the tenders or negotiations on returns shall apply to determine the rates of fixed concession charges and/or minimum guarantees.

5.3) In collecting concession charges from the concessionaires under items 5.1 and 5.2 for the following years from the first term of agreement after completion of assistance measures for concessionaires and airlines, the AOT management shall be entrusted to consider a comparison between the number of passengers as of any given year and that of the year before the COVID-19 crisis (year 2019). If fewer passenger numbers are found, the rates of fixed concession charges and/or minimum guarantees of the year before the COVID-19 crisis (year 2019) of each airport shall be applied as collection rates. However, once the passenger numbers as of any given year are higher than those of the year before the COVID-19 crisis (year 2019), passenger growth rates as of such year shall henceforth be applied as the calculation base for MAGi.

 

6) The assistance measures under items 1 – 5 shall be applicable to only the concessionaires and airlines who have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and already have legal relations with AOT before the date of the AOT Board of Directors’ resolution (22 April 2020).