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Orient Thai reacts to Thai AirAsia's Terminal 1 Request
4th Jun 2012
The demand of Thai AirAsia from airport authority to get the whole Terminal 1 at Don Mueang Airport for its exclusive use was met with adverse reactions from rival airlines. The demand was set as a condition for its transfer to the old airport from Suvarnabhumi Airport.
T1 is the lone active terminal at Don Mueang Airport, while the other two are out of service.
Thai AirAsia's proposal came out after knowing that the government is ordering the state-arm Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) to move some of the low-cost carriers to the old Don Mueang Airport in order to decongest Suvarnabhumi. TAA is the largest budget airliner in the country.
The contention of other airlines' opposition is that Thai AirAsia's current traffic volume doesn't justify its demand for sole usage of Don Mueang's T1. They said that other airlines should also use the terminal since it has an annual capacity of 14.5 million passengers, hence big enough for all existing budget airlines in Thailand.
Currently, only Nok Air is using the T1 since the old airport was reopened in March this year after it was closed for repair after it was devastated by flood last year that swept the capital.
If the negotiations of TAA and AoT would prosper, all other airlines, including Nok Air, would be compelled to use T2 of the old airport, if relocation would push through. The Terminal 2, which abuts T1, needs to be renovated first before any relocation can take place.
Since renovation will take time, it was feared that it won't be ready by August, the time the government has set all low-cost carriers should start moving to Don Mueang Airport.
The rumoured proposal of exclusive use of T1 by Thai AirAsia to the airport authority has created much controversy that the AoT president, Anirut Thanomkulbutra, vehemently denied any such proposal taking place. He assured that all airlines have equal access to use the airport facilities necessary for their operations.
Orient Thai's Udom Tantiprasongchai made it clear that he is not against any conditions agreed on by AoT and TAA involving its impending transfer to Don Mueang from Suvarnabhumi Airport, as long as the government doesn't employ double standard policy with regards to its (airport) use.
To recall, Thai AirAsia has sought confirmation from the government that the current ruling should stay for long term to avoid unnecessary expenses incurred from the relocation from one airport to another, not to mention, the tedious works involved that certainly affect their business.
Suvarnabhumi has a design capacity of 45 million passengers per year but it handled over 47 million passengers last year and it is seen to climb this year to 51 million.
In comparison, Don Mueang was handling as much as 38 million based on the 2005 figure, a year before Suvarnabhumi was opened.
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