Massive plan to put Suvarnabhumi at the apex of regional airports

Srettha chose the Government House on Friday to announce a vision for the air transport industry, sharing his belief that Thailand has what it takes to become a hub connecting air travel throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and rising to among the top 10 air logistics and distribution centres in the world.

He reminded reporters that in 2005 Suvarnabhumi Airport was ranked 13th globally before falling to 68th place today.

“The government plans to reach into the top 20 within five years,” he said. “Thailand has the advantage of a strategic location in the centre of Asia-Pacific region, sharing borders with three other countries. We also benefit from ASEAN’s multilateral agreement on full liberalisation of airfreight services.”

Srettha added that the day’s reveal of the government’s vision was in cooperation with the Airports Authority of Thailand Plc (AOT), which manages six international airports in Thailand. They are: Suvarnabhumi, Don Muang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang, Hat Yai and Phuket international airports.

He said the government and AOT are already working on projects to increase the capacity of the 20,000-rai Suvarnabhumi Airport to 150 million passengers per year within 2030.

“Last year, AOT opened a new satellite building, SAT-1, which increased the airport capacity from 45 to 60 million passengers per year,” said Srettha. “This year the airport will open its third runway to further increase flight capacity from 30 to 90 flights per hour.”

Meanwhile, a plan is already in the pipeline for the expansion of passenger terminals to the east and west of the airport, enabling Suvarnabhumi to serve an additional 30 million passengers per year, said the premier.

Suvarnabhumi’s future expansion plan includes the construction of a new passenger terminal in the southern part of the airport and a fourth runway. This would increase airport capacity by another 60 million passengers per year and 120 flights per hour.

“For Thailand to become a regional aviation hub, Suvarnabhumi must rank in the top 50 airports worldwide within one year, and in the top 20 within five years. This is the dream that I intend to turn into a reality,” said Srettha.

Immigration police adopts government’s goal

Police Maj Gen Cherngron Rimpadee, the spokesperson for the Immigration Police, said the bureau has adopted the government’s goal for Suvarnabhumi Airport, and will further upgrade the immigration process and equipment at the airport to improve service quality and the airport’s ranking.

He said the police have prepared measures to handle increased passengers during holidays and festivals, including adding 200 immigration personnel during rush hours at the airport to reduce crowding at checkpoints.

“We plan to increase staff by another 330 persons before Songkran Festival to ensure that passengers coming through the airport can enjoy festival activities in Thailand without any hassle,” he said.

Cherngron added that the bureau is also designing an integrated immigration platform called Thailand Immigration System, that would provide a one-stop service for immigration screening, visa issuing, applications for long stay, and other services under a single platform, eliminating the confusion and tardiness caused by each service being handled by different contractors.

“We believe this system will be ready in the next two years. In the short term, we will increase automatic kiosks for passport checks at the airport from 18 to 50, in a bid to prevent long queues, especially at outgoing gates,” he said.

Plans for other airports

The government on Friday also unveiled a plan for Don Mueang, Bangkok’s secondary airport, turning it into a point-to-point airport that serves 50 million people per year within 2030 from today’s 30 million people.

Under this plan, a new international terminal would be built to serve 23 million passengers per year, while the current terminal 1 and 2 buildings would be remodelled into domestic terminals with a capacity of 27 million passengers per year.

A new junction building would also be built within Don Mueang Airport to provide commercial and retail space, as well as a parking lot for up to 7,600 vehicles that connects to the Red Line urban train.

In provincial areas, the government aims to build the second Phuket Airport, also known as Andaman Airport, to serve increased tourist traffic going to Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and other southern provinces. The new airport would have a capacity of 40 million people per year and serve both long-haul flights and point to point international flights.

Meanwhile, the current Phuket Airport would undergo an expansion at the passenger terminal and satellite building, further increasing the capacity from 12.5 to 18 million passengers per year by 2030.

In the north, Chiang Mai Airport would receive an expansion of domestic and international terminals, enabling it to serve 16.5 million people per year from the current 8 million. The government is also working with VietJet to build a second Chiang Mai Airport, also known as Lanna Airport, to be the airline’s home base and capable of serving 20 million passengers per year.