BANGKOK, Dec 26 (NNN-TNA):Suvarnabhumi international airport and the state-operated Transport Co, Ltd are prepared to service crowds of Christmas and New Year revelers expected to leave the capital between now and next week, senior officials said.

Serirat Prasutanond, president of Airports of Thailand (AOT) said he expected some 1.6 million passengers to leave from Suvarnabhumi between December 25 and January 5 for foreign and domestic travel.

In order to facilitate crowd of passengers, the airport has set up a coordination centre to operate in that period, he said. Located on the first floor of the east wing of the passenger terminal, the centre will be staffed by government workers and medical staff round-the-clock.

Believing that more than 1.7 million persons will travel within Thailand during the festive season, a number almost identical to last year’s New Year, according to Wuthichart Kalayanamitr, chief managing director of the Transport Co Ltd, who said his company has increased the number of buses leaving the capital by 10 per cent to cope with the higher volume of people heading for their hometowns to visit their families or for a leisure trip.

Wuthichart said most holiday travelers will leave Bangkok Tuesday and Wednesday. He said he was optimistic that all passengers will be able to leave the bus station before midnight daily because sufficient bus service is prepared for the passengers.

Other holiday travelers will leave the capital by railroad.

-NNN-TNA