Background
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi (su-wanna-poom) Airport formally opened in late September 2006 after many years of planning and construction. Thailand hopes the new $4 billion airport, designed to handle 45 million passengers and three million tons of cargo a year, will surpass rivals Singapore and Malaysia as the region's most important aviation hub. Its seven-story terminal is one of the largest in the world, covering an area equal to 100 (US) football fields. The airport was designed to accommodate an increase in annual capacity up to 120 million passengers.
