The cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to transfer Udon Thani, Buri Ram and Krabi airports from the Department of Airports to fall under the Airports of Thailand (AoT) for a new 9.19-billion-baht air transport development project.
Phangnga airport, expected to open in 2031, will later be included in the same development cluster, which will see the total budget then increased to 10.47 billion baht, said deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul yesterday.
Under the plan, Udon Thani airport will be developed into the main gateway for the upper Northeast, making it both a regional airport and a central air hub, she said.
It will be developed along with Buri Ram airport in the lower Northeast to maximise the capacity of air transport in the region, she said, adding Buri Ram is also a perfect location for the government to promote tourism in minor cities.
Krabi airport is in an outstanding location and can do the same for tourism in the South, Ms Traisuree said.
And since Phuket airport has limited space, Krabi airport can be further expanded to catch up with the expected growth in demand for air travel services to the lower South, she said.
With Phuket seeing increasingly crowded air traffic, Krabi airport will primarily aim to ease this, she noted.
In the near future, Krabi airport will also be able to accommodate more private jets, Ms Traisuree said.
Citing an analysis of Thailand's aviation industry, Ms Traisuree said the industry is expected to begin picking up in 2024 in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic that badly impacted the global aviation industry.
The development of Udon Thani, Buri Ram and Krabi airports will bring about an improvement in air travel connections both domestically and internationally, she said.
In an initial plan, the government was at first considering transferring four airports from the department to the AoT for the same purpose, ie Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Tak and Chumphon airports, Ms Traisuree said.
The plan, however, was later revised to further improve the efficiency of development strategies in order to build a better air travel network, she said.
That was when Udon Thani, Buri Ram and Krabi airports were selected for this clustered development instead, she added.