Tourism operators in the Andaman provinces are urging the new prime minister to invest in a new airport in Phangnga, which has the potential to become the aviation hub for the South on a larger scale than Phuket.
Pongsakorn Ketprapakorn, president of the Tourism Council of Phangnga, said the council is scheduled to meet Srettha Thavisin, the new prime minister, on Saturday. The council plans to propose a long-term plan to the new government that includes a new airport in Khok Kloi.
He said the new airport is necessary for the Andaman provinces as expansion at the Phuket airports has reached maximum capacity, while tourist demand for the South has grown rapidly after the pandemic.
Mr Pongsakorn said the government should assign Airports of Thailand (AoT) to start conducting a feasibility study and environmental impact assessment as soon as possible, as airport construction takes many years.
Based on a previous study for a potential airport in Phangnga, he said the new facility could have the longest runway in Thailand, which could accommodate the large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380, unlike Phuket airport, which has physical limits.
Moreover, the new airport could have a capacity of up to 25 million passengers per year, double the 12.5 million at Phuket.
To link the three Andaman provinces with this new airport, Mr Pongsakorn said the council would propose an electric bus project to Mr Srettha. Bus services would carry passengers from the airport to Phuket within an hour and Krabi within two hours.
"The recovery of tourism in Phangnga has reached 70% of the level in 2019. Some hotels already have full bookings for the upcoming high season. Provinces along the Andaman coast need a new airport to accommodate the stronger passenger flow in the near future," he said.
Mr Pongsakorn said Phangnga has 150 hotels with 17,000 rooms. If the government agrees to build the new airport, the province will draw more investment.
However, tourism operators prefer an airport owned and developed by AoT, instead of granting a concession to the private sector, he said.
Thaneth Tantipiriyakij, president of the Phuket Tourist Association, said Mr Srettha pledged to tourism operators in Phuket yesterday the government will accelerate development of a new airport in Phangnga.
He said Phuket ran out of space to develop a second runway, while there is an aviation regulation that prohibits constructing airports within a certain distance of each other.
Santisuk Klongchaiya, chief executive of Thai AirAsia, said Phangnga has the potential to build a new airport and absorb passengers from Phuket airport because of the proximity of the two provinces.
He said as long as passengers and airlines have more choices, the new airport could be operated either by the private sector as in Samui, which is managed by Bangkok Airways, or public investment as with most airports in Thailand.
"A new airport in Phangnga will help relieve congestion in Phuket," said Mr Santisuk.