Thumbs up for Suvarnabhumi Airport northern extension plans
A network of operators and regulators of airline businesses have expressed their support for the planned construction of terminals on the northern side of Suvarnabhumi Airport, an airline executive said yesterday.
The chairman of the Airport Consultative Committees (ACC), Suwatthana Sribunrueng, said all three major organisations had lent their support to the Airports of Thailand (AOT)'s North Expansion initiative, which is expected to able accommodate 101 million air travelers in the next 20 years.
The three organisations cited by Suwatthana are the International Air Transport Association, the Board of Airline Representatives, and the Airline Operators Committee.
North Expansion is planned by state-enterprise AOT and is intended to service domestic flights.
Suwatthana, who is also Thai Airways chief executive officer, reiterated the Mixed Concept initiative aimed at servicing both domestic and international flights. Under Mixed Concept, car park buildings and aircraft pits will be built separately from the existing passenger terminals.
Suwatthana described pre-Covid crowd problems at Suvarnabhumi Airport as nearly exploding, as the current capability could cope with around 60-65 million. If the North Expansion is not implemented, a vast national economic loss is certain, he warned.
Asked why expansion on the south of Suvarnnabhumi Airport has not been planned, he said the construction would require more time and funding.
The ACC was set up on the instructions of Transport Minister Saksiam Chidchob, chaired on an interim basis by Suwatthana.
