At the close of 2009 air traffic began to pick up, and in 2009 Suvarnabhumi Airport recorded 40.5 million passengers, an INCREASE of 4.9% over the previous year. In January of this year 4 million passengers were recorded at Suvarnabhumi Airport, February continued the trend, and if it had continued for the remainder of the year, then the airport would have been well over its planned annual capacity. The Airports of Thailand PLC (AOT) has announced various plans for expansion, INCLUDING at different times, a third runway, a domestic terminal, midfield terminal, etc., but so far nothing has been started, and given the minimum four year lead time to bring new facilities on line, the situation is critical. Government funding seems to be unavailable and yet the airport is a major national resource, with majority Government ownership. The development of its infrastructure to keep up with demand should be seen as a Government priority, given that airports, and the airlines they serve, are drivers of economic development.