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Krabi and Phang Nga names as Alternate Airports to Phuket
27th May 2013
At the rate at which the Phuket International Airport is growing in terms of passenger traffic, it is projected that it will handle 12 million passengers by 2015. The current terminal expansion of the airport is designed to handle an annual capacity of 12.5 million passengers.
Airport officials and the Airports of Thailand are already cramming looking for a solution to the foreseen problem they are facing right now. Among the solutions they consider are: 1) carry out another expansion at the current site, 2) build a greenfield airport in Phang Nga, and 3) use Krabi Airport, 180 kilometers away, as alternative airport.
Based on the latest data, the airport handled a total of 9.5 million passengers last year (2012). But according to AoT office, the present traffic growth rate of the airport means that the passenger traffic will balloon to 10.5 million this year (2013). By 2015, the airport would have handled a total of 12 million passengers.
On the year that the new terminal opens, the airport would have been operating at its full capacity already.
Currently, the airport is already operating beyond its capacity, prompting airport officials to turn down requests from airlines to add more flights.
According to Sqn Ldr Sita Divari, Chairman of Airports of Thailand, it is no longer economically viable to expand the present airport through land acquisition because of the sky-high prices of lots in the area.
Reclamation of the sea is another option but they fear they might encounter oppositions from different cause-oriented groups such as environmentalists that will further impede the airport's growth altogether and cripple its operation in the process.
One probable solution is to build a new airport in Phang Nga to the north in the mainland. Tapping the Krabi Airport to the east, also in the mainland, is also a sound alternative to Phuket Airport, bypassing the hassle of building a new aerodrome. Krabi Airport, at present, is able to handle large aircraft and can be an alternate airport if Phuket Airport reaches capacity.
But according to Phuket Airport General Manager, Pratuang Sonkham, it is still possible to carry out another expansion project in the present site. However, the staff housing of AoT shall be relocated somewhere to give way to the planned expansion.
Another problem the airport is facing is the lack of facilities such as aprons and another runway that would facilitate take-off and landing movements of the planes.
The present runway of Phuket Airport is not long enough to handle movements of fully-laden large-capacity aircraft such as A380s and B747s.
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