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Phuket Airport is Reaching Capacity
28th Mar 2013
Phuket International Airport can no longer take in more flights into and out of its facility due to capacity constraint.
AirAsia's application for additional flights was rejected after the airport's single runway has reportedly reached its maximum level of aircraft movement for the period April 1-22, 2013.
Phuket International Airport is the second busiest airport in the country after Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport. Phuket is the most popular tourist destination in Thailand and it's the main gateway to the south of the country.
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The airport recorded one million passengers for each month in January and February and is projected to increase again in the months to come. Many are wondering what will happen next if the airport stops accepting flights by airlines who wish to add more service to bring in more tourists to the country.
Though Krabi Airport serves as an alternate airport to Phuket Airport, most tourists complain of time lost to travel between airports.
Expansion work is now ongoing for a new international terminal which will boost the airport's capacity to 12.5 million upon completion in 2015. Construction of another runway, though, is not part of the current expansion program of the airport.
The airport officials explain that it is all about expedition of processes inside the terminal rather than runway congestion.
The airport has recorded a steady increase in passenger traffic since 2010 when it posted a 21.66 growth, followed by 20.25% in 2011 and last year's 13%. Last year's traffic hit the 9.5 million mark which is a record for the airport.
The present capacity of the airport, according to airport official, is still manageable, though some additional flights are turned down for the particular period between April 1 to 22, which is actually a peak season in the resort island.
Phuket was able to spring back from the 2004 tsunami that ravaged the resort island's tourism industry that subsequently depressed its economy.
Phuket 's success in driving its tourism-based economy to phenomenal growth year after year, despite many setbacks, is the envy of the tourism industry around the world. It has sustained its popularity as a tourist haven far longer than most other established destinations. This is because Phuket's appeal is so diverse making it attractive to not just a handful of niche markets but also to a wide range of market segments and nationalities.
Phuket doesn't want to bank on a few established markets by ignoring less-developed or the developing markets. Its success has been attributed to its unique appeal which attracts a diverse market and it wants to keep it that way in the years to come if it wants to sustain its growth.
The airport, which is a major support facility in Phuket's tourist-centric economy, should be able to handle the projected growth in passenger traffic in the years ahead.
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