Phuket airport pushed to the limit
May reach capacity as expansion finishes
PHUKET : Airlines and charter operators are flocking to Phuket, exacerbating crowding at the southern island's airport that is already operating beyond its designed capacity.
As Thailand's second busiest airfield, Phuket International Airport has seen a dramatic increase in air traffic in the year to September and the upward trend is expected to continue for at least a year.
Passenger traffic through the airport jumped 24.9% in the last fiscal year to 6.79 million while aircraft movements rose 28.16% to 46,132, according to figures from Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT).
Foreign tourists are returning to Phuket in droves as the high season starts, and airport general manager Prathuang Sornkham said passenger throughput was projected to rise to 7.2 million for the current fiscal year.
That poses a big challenge for Phuket, which was designed to handle 6.5 million passengers a year. It needs to manage the congestion before its 5.79 billion baht expansion is finished in 2014, he said.
Mr Prathuang said that by the time the planned expansion is completed, passengers through Phuket may have already reached its new capacity of 12.5 million a year.
The global economic recovery, revived confidence in Thailand after the political unrest earlier this year, and the popularity of Phuket as a prime holiday destination are fuelling the revival.
International passenger traffic through Phuket jumped 38.8% in the last fiscal year to 3.09 million, while international flight frequencies grew 32.14% year-on-year to 21,818.
Domestic traffic increased less dramatically, with passenger numbers increasing 15.3% to 3.7 million and aircraft movement escalating 24.8% to 24,314.
For the six-month high season that began this month, 35 airlines and charter operators are operating through Phuket, up from 30 last high season.
Qatar Airways launched flights to Phuket via Kuala Lumpur in October, becoming the first Middle Eastern carrier to serve the island.
Construction of the airport expansion is expected to begin in March.
The construction programme has six goals: a new terminal for international passengers, upgrading the existing terminal to handle domestic passengers, improving the runway, taxiway and aprons, modernising the aircraft fuel hydrant system, constructing a new parking building, and building a new AoT office.
Credit: Bangkok Post
May reach capacity as expansion finishes
PHUKET : Airlines and charter operators are flocking to Phuket, exacerbating crowding at the southern island's airport that is already operating beyond its designed capacity.
As Thailand's second busiest airfield, Phuket International Airport has seen a dramatic increase in air traffic in the year to September and the upward trend is expected to continue for at least a year.
Passenger traffic through the airport jumped 24.9% in the last fiscal year to 6.79 million while aircraft movements rose 28.16% to 46,132, according to figures from Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT).
Foreign tourists are returning to Phuket in droves as the high season starts, and airport general manager Prathuang Sornkham said passenger throughput was projected to rise to 7.2 million for the current fiscal year.
That poses a big challenge for Phuket, which was designed to handle 6.5 million passengers a year. It needs to manage the congestion before its 5.79 billion baht expansion is finished in 2014, he said.
Mr Prathuang said that by the time the planned expansion is completed, passengers through Phuket may have already reached its new capacity of 12.5 million a year.
The global economic recovery, revived confidence in Thailand after the political unrest earlier this year, and the popularity of Phuket as a prime holiday destination are fuelling the revival.
International passenger traffic through Phuket jumped 38.8% in the last fiscal year to 3.09 million, while international flight frequencies grew 32.14% year-on-year to 21,818.
Domestic traffic increased less dramatically, with passenger numbers increasing 15.3% to 3.7 million and aircraft movement escalating 24.8% to 24,314.
For the six-month high season that began this month, 35 airlines and charter operators are operating through Phuket, up from 30 last high season.
Qatar Airways launched flights to Phuket via Kuala Lumpur in October, becoming the first Middle Eastern carrier to serve the island.
Construction of the airport expansion is expected to begin in March.
The construction programme has six goals: a new terminal for international passengers, upgrading the existing terminal to handle domestic passengers, improving the runway, taxiway and aprons, modernising the aircraft fuel hydrant system, constructing a new parking building, and building a new AoT office.
Credit: Bangkok Post
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