Thailand expanding Phuket Airport

BANGKOK, December 28 (TNA) - The government is expanding the Phuket International Airport in the Thai South, now congested with air traffic of 9.1 million passengers annually, compared with its existing capacity of only 6.5 million passengers yearly. When inspecting the Phuket International Airport on Thursday, Transport Minister Chadchat Sittipunt ordered Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) to speed up the expansion and to improve area use at the airport, including its immigration, check-in and commercial zones, as well as public transit services for beauty and passengers’ conveniences. In addition, the minister demanded the Phuket Airport to have efficient emergency management, following a recent emergency landing of an Air Berlin plane which lost its tires, blocking the only runway of the airport and affecting other flights, and to construct another runway, reasoning that Phuket is an important regional tourist gateway with its air passenger volume expected to reach 20 million passengers annually in the future. According to the minister, the expansion project will enable the Phuket Airport to handle 12.5 million passengers annually, comprising 5 million passengers of international flights and 7.5 million passengers of domestic flights, covering its expanded runways, aircraft parking bays, aircraft fueling services, passenger terminals and supportive buildings, resulting in the number of parking bays to increase from 15 to 21. AOT has started the expansion of the Phuket International Airport since October 2012 with the 5.79-billion-baht project set for completion in February 2014. (TNA)