So Phuket is growing....bigger airport

Today's Phuket Gazette has this story on the proposed expansion of the airport. Read between the lines a bit - currently 6 million people a year! and almost double that in ten years. All without building a runway big enough for most planes.

Krabi International is large enough to handle those planes, is quite modern AND is not on Phuket. Reason enough to use that airport instead.

They also don't mention the Horrible waits at immigration in Phuket. More bus service? More taxi service? Nopes. Just more people. hmmm...



5bn baht airport expansion approved

This aerial photograph illustrates why the sole runway at Phuket International Airport, with the Andaman Sea at one end and a main road at the other, cannot be extended much beyond its current 3,000 meters.

MAI KHAO: Airports of Thailand (AOT) is set to inject 5 billion baht into the expansion of Phuket International Airport (PIA) to bring its capacity up to 11.5 million passengers by the year 2016 – an increase of 77% over current capacity.

The announcement was made on May 23 by Deputy Transport Minister Songsak Thongsri, who joined Phuket Vice-Governor Worapoj Rathasima, PIA Director Wicha Nernlop, and other officials from AOT and PIA in a meeting and inspection tour of the airport.

In 2007, PIA had a total of 38,368 flights, a 32.4% rise from the year 2006, with 5.47 million passengers using the airport, a 22.6% increase over the previous year. The sharp rise is attributed to the growing popularity of low-cost carriers.

This year, the AOT expects the airport to accommodate 41,000 flights and about 6 million passengers.

Following the 516-million-baht expansion of the international terminal completed last year, the airport can now handle up to 6.5 million passengers per year. The 5-billion-baht funding will cover the development plan for fiscal years 2009-2011, said K. Songsak.

Beyond that, AOT will need to provide more funding in order for the airport to be able to welcome 15 million visitors by 2020, he said.

The 2009-2011 budget will cover the construction of more taxiways and 11 parking bays for aircraft, a new international passenger terminal, conversion of the existing international terminal into a domestic terminal, a new cargo building, new roads and improved transport systems, a parking garage for the international terminal, improvements in car parking areas, as well as a new airport office and airline offices.

However, the two-year plan does not address the airport’s main limiting factor: that its single 3,000-meter runway can only accommodate 20 flights per hour and is too short to allow for safe takeoff of fully-laden jumbo jets or the mammoth Airbus 380.

Given this restraint, AOT is intending to propose to the Transport Ministry that Krabi International Airport be designated as a relief airport for PIA when traffic exceeds capacity, K. Songsak said.

Apart from visiting the airport, the Deputy Transport Minister on May 25 went to visit the intended site of the island’s second bus station on Thepkrasattri Rd, near Super Cheap in Koh Kaew.

Construction has been delayed because none of the six construction firms who took out plans for the work tendered a bid, which they say underestimates the actual cost of materials.

K. Songsak advised local officials to review the plan and adjust the bid specifications to bring them in line with rising market prices.


Similan Diving

More Drama from Phuket airport...

as before the Phuket Airport taxi drama swirls with silliness and stupidity. To avoid this madness skip Phuket based Taxi's altogether. Keep your money in Khao Lak - Khao Lak Taxi

as quoted from the Gazette....


MAI KHAO: While Phuket Mai Khao Company launched its airport limousine and minibus service at Phuket International Airport yesterday morning, some 100 drivers and other staff of the Phuket Limousine and Business Services Cooperative (PBC), which already operates limos and minibuses at the airport, staged a five-hour strike in protest of the new concession.

However, few passengers were inconvenienced as there were few incoming flights during the strike, from 7 am until noon. (ahem!)

The PBC members demanded that Airports of Thailand (AOT) allow the PBC to operate more vehicles under a new concession.

The new service operated by Phuket Mai Khao Co was able to handle most of the passenger load, with the remainder gladly served by the 42 metered taxis that maintain a booth outside the main terminal.

However, the arrival of the new limo operator at the airport offers no relief from high fares because the company is charging the same rates as those offered by the PBC.

Until yesterday, the PBC was the only transport operator allowed to have a booth in the arrivals terminal. Now, both concessionaires are operating almost side-by-side, separated only by a small kiosk.

Somboon Jumpathong, managing director of Phuket Airport Group, which runs the new service through Phuket Mai Khao Co, told the Gazette that his company had won the right to operate 20 cars and 60 vans in a public bidding on December 30.

The company launched yesterday with 16 cars and 30 vans and is awaiting delivery of more new vehicles to fill its quota, he said.

“About 30% of our drivers are employees. The remainder are drivers who have joined us using their own cars,” he said.

“We have to pay 830,000 baht a month for the concession. The contract, signed on January 17, allowed us to start today [January 24],” K. Somboon said.

He added that he would not appose any move by AOT to increase the number of vehicles the PBC would be allowed to operate.

“If the PBC is allowed the same number of vehicles [150] they were formerly allowed to operate, it would not be a problem for us. Business means competition, so we will just do our best and play by the rules,” he said.

The PBC’s former quota of 110 cars and 40 vans was to be slashed to 90 cars when the new service went into operation – yesterday.

The AOT slashed the number of vehicles the PBC was allowed to operate following many widely-publicized customer complaints that PBC limousine drivers were speeding, and that its minivan operators were stopping on the bypass road where passengers were routinely forced to wait while being pestered by touts pushing a variety of goods and services - hotel reservations, package tours, etc.

(ed. note - this is why we recommend avoiding using these taxis. They are unsafe, greedy and try to bully shops, hotels and passengers into paying commissions for simply driving someone to where they want to go. )

The PBC claimed that the latter practice ended in August last year with the launch of separate minivan services for Phuket City and destinations along the southwest coast, along with a promise by the PBC to punish any drivers who continued the abuse.

However, PBC President Niphon Piromrit told the Gazette that the strike was prompted by AOT’s refusal to give a clear answer as to whether the PBC’s quota would be returned to 150 vehicles, as requested.

“We just want our quota back at 150, but the AOT still insists on limiting us to just 90 cars. As for the complaints, we are now in the process of improving our services, but it seems the AOT doesn’t care about that,” K. Niphon said.

He added that he felt sorry the AOT did not care about the welfare of the PBC drivers. All PBC drivers own their vehicles and are subject to high co-op membership fees in order to pay concession fees, (and other internal fees!!!)K. Niphon said, adding that under the concession that ended on June 30 last year, the PBC paid AOT about 1.2 million baht a month.



So the taxi driver mafia is upset about having competition. Just avoid the drama. We can help arrange pick-up service, without any hassle's and no distractions.

Khao Lak Flights - arriving at Phuket Airport

Phuket is a very large International Airport. Beside being a large European Tourist destination, you can easily arrange connecting flights from Bangkok, Hong Kong, Australia, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Peak season sees as many as 40 flights a day! With the rapid expansion of budget airlines in Asia, you should be able to fly at prices cheaper than the trains and just a little bit more than buses. Especially if you book at least 2 weeks ahead.

Phuket Airport is also only 75 KM South of Khao Lak! That's less than one hour away, as we are connected by a very scenic and rapid road. Please allow us to arrange your transit between Phuket Airport and Khao Lak.
(Read our "taxi" section)

If you fly International direct, please expect a long customs/immigration wait - as long as 1 hour! Phuket Immigration officers are notoriously grouchy.

If you arrive from a domestic flight you should be able to walk right out the door minutes after landing.

Asia has recently liberalized its airways and is now home to the worlds best flight bargains. Budget airlines abound and offer some incredible deals. several of them have great internet booking sites and give you some real peace of mind about travelling to and from our area. With direct flights to Australia for $200 and flghts to Hong Kong for as low as $60...travelling here is pretty easy.

{If you arrive in Bangkok and then are transferring to a domestic flight please allow at least 2 hours there for various immigration/customs checks - it rarely takes this long, but you never know.}

Inside the terminal there is a Burger King and a another small fast food joint. A couple of crap-shops and a very limited newstand are inside. So we've found it more entertaining and interesting to wait in the arrivals area.

{Air Asia is currently the only airline that flies into the new airport in Bangkok, where all of the international flights land. If you are transferring to one the smaller regional airlines, then give yourself several hours of transit time between airports in Bangkok.}

As with most International Airports, you can easily rent cars (don't forget that we drive on the Left here!)

Please read our section on taxis before selecting one at the Phuket International Airport
Major discount domestic (and regional airlines) are:

Thai Air Asia (www.airasia.com - use the "Malaysia - English" section to book flights in English)
Nok Air (www.http://www.nokair.com/nokconnext/aspx/welcome.aspx?currlang=en-US)
Orient One-Two-Go (http://www.fly12go.com/en/main.shtml)
Fireflyz (http://www.fireflyz.com.my/) cheap flights to malaysia

Though not really budget airlines, these will offer similar routes, and will work with travel agents from your country ...

Bangkok Airways (http://www.bangkokair.com)
Thai airways (http://www.thaiair.com)

There is also
Phuket Airlines (www.phuketairlines.com)
But after a series of accidents and poor safety records they have been Blacklisted from European air spaces, and at least one of the planes has been held for non-payment of airport fees - we discourage their use

For Budget Flights within South-East Asia, we Recommend...

Tiger Airways (www.tigerairways.com) Based in Singapore
Silk Air (www.silkair.com) Budget arm of Singapore Airlines
Dragon air (www.dragonair.com) Based in Hong Kong
Malaysia Airlines (www.malaysiaairlines.com) Based In Kuala Lumpur
Jetstarasia (www.jetstarasia.com ) Based In Singapore

Both Kuala Lumpur and Singapore have opened new budget terminals, so we expect to see an explosion in air traffic in this area. Please ask us any of your question

Similan Liveaboard