Hat Yai International Airport 5.56

Hat Yai International Airport is the major southern hub airport in Thailand near the city of Hat Yai. It is under the management of Airports of Thailand, PLC, It is an important airport for Muslims on the pilgrimage to Mecca. Annually, it handles more than 1,500,000 passengers, 9,500 flights and 12,000 tons of cargo. Expansion plans are in the works, as the airport is designed for 2.5 million passengers, was already seeing 3.56 million using it in Sept 2015, will be expanded to 4.5 million capacity scheduled complete by 2018, and 10 million by 2030.OverviewAt longitude 100° 23' 55" E and latitude 06° 55' 46" N, 28 m above sea level, the airport is 9km from downtown Hat Yai. Highway 4135 (Sanambin Panij Road) links to the airport. Its service hours are 06:00–24:00. The runway can handle 30 flights per hour and its durability is rated at PCN 60/F/C/X/T. There are seven taxiways and an apron area of 56,461 m2.Accidents and incidentsDuring the 2005 Songkhla bombings, a bomb planted at the departure lounge by Pattani separatists exploded on 3 April 2005, killing one passenger and injuring 10.