Officials at the opening of the new terminal
FOLLOWING several delays to its completion and months of systems checks and test runs, Phuket International Airport’s new passenger terminal was finally opened last Friday.
The new four-storey, 73,103m2 terminal, which began operations on Thursday midnight, is part of the airport’s 5.7 billion baht (US$164 million) expansion plan. The airport is connected by 46 airlines to more than 37 destinations.
With the new terminal, passenger handling capacity at Phuket airport effectively doubled from 6.5 million to 12.5 million.
However, Phuket airport appears to be heading for over-capacity despite its expansion.
According to Airports of Thailand, which operates the airport, Phuket served 13.7 million passengers and 87,409 flights from October 2015 to August 2016, a respective increase of 17 per cent and 16 per cent from the same 11-month period the year earlier.
Meanwhile, the old terminal will be turned into a domestic facility following extensive renovations.
During the opening ceremony of the new terminal, Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha also stressed the need to eliminate taxi mafias from Phuket and other airports in the country, according to Bangkok Post. Illegal operated taxis is a common issue at many Thai airports.
