Naval land in Phuket eyed to accommodate executive jets

Naval land in Phuket eyed to accommodate executive jets

Airports of Thailand (AoT) is turning to the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) to set aside part of its reserved area at Phuket International Airport for private jet parking.

The RTN tarmac is seen as an immediate solution to the absence of space to accommodate executive jets which have been mostly banned from operating through the heavily congested airfield since late last year.

AoT reckons that part of the 40-rai RTN reserved area, located in the northern part of the airport, could be set aside to accommodate the parking for four small executive jets.

"We would soon talk to the RTN about using part of the area for private jet parking," said AoT acting president Somchai Sawasdeepon.

The usage would be only temporarily or before the airport's 5.7-billion-baht expansion is up and running in 2015 when it could better cope with overwhelming air traffic.

Heavy traffic by commercial airlines has taken away all the time slots for take-offs and landings, as well as parking space for private jets.

Such restrictions have prevented most users of private jets _ international billionaires, tycoons and celebrities _ from reaching the Thai southern resort island.

An industry source said the RTN did allow some private jets to use its reserved areas on a case-by-case basis over the last two years, but stopped granting permission last month for "security reasons."

AoT's move to resort to RTN was welcomed by Jaiyavat Navaraj, chairman of the Southeast Asia Operator Committee, part of Hong Kong-based Asian Business Aviation Association.

"It's a good solution to deal with immediate problems, but we would like to see AoT developing a sustainable policy whereby business aviation forms part of the Phuket airport development," he said.

He was referring to the establishment of terminal and other facilities dedicated to private jets _ none of which is included in Phuket airport's current development plan.

Passenger traffic through Phuket airport reached 9.54 million last year while total aircraft movements soared to 61,004.

When finished, the airport will be able to process 12.5 million passengers a year, the expected traffic size in 2015.

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