Bangkok Airways eyes Samui cruise terminal, sea airport

Bangkok Airways Plc has expressed interest in bidding for the Samui cruise terminal and sea airport projects but said it needs time to see if the two projects will benefit its ongoing businesses in the resort island.

Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, the airline’s CEO and president, said on Wednesday that his company backed the government’s plan to build a cruise terminal and sea airport in Samui, a popular tourist island in Surat Thani province.

However, he said, his company was carrying out feasibility studies for the two projects to see if they would supplement its operation of Samui Airport and other businesses on the island.

Bangkok Airways owns and operates Samui Airport.

When Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin visited Koh Samui in April, he said his Cabinet would give the go-ahead to the 12.17 billion baht cruise terminal project.

Srettha said this project could be counted as a key performance indicator (KPI) for the Marine Department, which should rush it to the Cabinet in time for approval within this year. He also wants a sea airport to be built so seaplanes can shuttle tourists from nearby islands.

Puttipong, meanwhile, said the cruise terminal project will provide Bangkok Airways a great opportunity to expand its business, especially since cruise ships are already bringing thousands of tourists to Samui.

However, he said, Bangkok Airways still needs to study whether the island’s basic infrastructure will be able to cope with a surge in tourist numbers if a cruise terminal is opened.

He also said that Bangkok Airways was interested in the Samui sea airport project because it would draw rich tourists who want to travel to other tourist destinations in a short time.

For instance, he said, flying a seaplane to the Similan Islands from Samui will take less than an hour compared to the current boat service which takes four to five hours.

“We are interested in the sea airport and running a seaplane airline, but we need time to study it first,” he said.

He added that though two airlines have already received licences to operate seaplane services in Thailand, it will not affect Bangkok Airways’ decision.

The two airlines are Siam Seaplane and Thai Seaplane, which offer Cessna planes for charter in the Andaman region.

As for the state of business in Samui, Puttipong said things have returned to pre-pandemic levels, with inbound and outbound passengers hitting the target of a million each per year. Bangkok Airways’ aim is to double the number of both inbound and outbound tourists soon, he added.