Khon Kaen airport will speed up work on the expansion of its facilities with a new passenger terminal that will be able to cope with the rising number of travellers, expected to reach 1.2 million in 2015.
The airport is improving all of its facilities at a cost of 600 million baht.
Airport director Athaya Larpmak said 957,108 passengers used the facilities in 2014, double the number in 2013, because more airlines were offering services to the region.
Khon Kaen airport's expansion will accommodate a rising number of passengers.
The airport serves more than 5,000 passengers a day on average from its lone passenger terminal as more people in Khon Kaen and nearby provinces turn to air travel.
Mr Athaya said the airlines reported that their flight bookings arriving or departing from Khon Kaen airport averaged 90%.
Currently, the airport handles 13 regular daily flights but there are pending requests for flight operations from five airlines to destinations such as Chiang Mai, Krabi, Hat Yai and international tourist destinations in the region including Luang Phrabang, Kun Ming and Guang Zhou and Da Nang.
He said the airport has already put in place a three-year plan to upgrade and expand facilities, but a recent field visit by Transport Minister Prajin Jantong has resulted in an acceleration of work.
The Civil Aviation Department has been instructed to speed up the plans, set to be implemented in the 2016 fiscal year, by one year.
Therefore, the feasibility studies and design of the overall improvements should be finished this year so that construction can begin in 2016 and finished within three years, Mr Athaya said.
Besides the new passenger terminal, the airport this year will get a new aerobridge at Gate 3, improve its internal and external lighting, construct another parking area to accommodate up to 50 more cars, install new security cameras and increase the number of bays to six or seven from the current three.
The airport will also build a new walkway, toilets and restaurant to accommodate disabled passengers and people travelling with children.