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The Thai cabinet’s approval in principle of a five year plan (2009-2013) for the development of Phuket International Airport, is a welcome commitment towards growing this vital link in Phuket’s tourism infrastructure.

Without an efficient airport to handle the increasing number of airlines flying directly to Phuket, the island could quickly lose out to competitors like Bali, which is closer to Australia. Phuket’s success as a tourist destination, therefore, depends heavily on the availability of landing slots.

To put this into perspective, in 2009 Thai Airways announced direct flights from Hong Kong; the tiny Happy Air took to the air; Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysian Airlines, returned to the Phuket market; V-Australia, an offshoot of Virgin Blue from Australia, started direct flights; Air Asia continued to expand its network into Phuket, including designating it their second Thailand hub, and Jetstar from Australia announced an alliance with Air Asia. All this adds up to more availability and choice for the traveller.

The 5.7 billion baht makeover of PIA by the Airports Authority of Thailand was announced well over a year ago, but the approval only came through in December. In the meantime, however, it’s evident that the AOT hasn’t waited around for the go ahead. There are already noticeable improvements being implemented at the airport. In the future it will be vital that the makeover is concentrated on basic infrastructural projects like efficient safety and security standards, better immigration interfaces, low-cost carrier facilities and improved car parking; whilst creating an environment within the terminals themselves which is comfortable and efficient.

There’s a worldwide trend amongst airlines to focus on improving the ground services they offer given that transiting and embarking and disembarking from airports today can be stressful and time consuming, because of the stricter security measures.

For the transiting and embarking passenger, in particular, this should include availability of goods and services at reasonable prices, not the outrageous gouging that has become the rule in airports around the world. Terminals need to offer free internet, amusement areas for children, comfortable lounges and, above all, staff who are willing to help. When it comes to customer service Thailand has an advantage because her people are by nature, welcoming and charming. However, this needs to be backed up with sound training programmes.

This year the airport is expected to handle around 6.8 million visitors rising to 12.8 million by 2018. This is a realistic figure given the continued expansionary trend of air traffic to the island. One facility that will not be expanded is the runway, at least not yet. It can comfortably handle a fully laden Boeing 747 Jumbo jet. The only downside is the placement of the runway alongside the ocean. This can project some nasty squalls and winds across the runway from time to time.

PIA is categorised as ‘unranked’ in the Skytrax annual survey of airports. However, this is more a reflection of its size, than the quality of service. Nevertheless, most objective observers would still concede that PIA still has got some way to go to meet the level of services that passengers demand.
Because of its Asian location, PIA has to stand regional comparison with the best five-star (Skytrax ranked) airports in the world – Incheon, Seoul, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok has a three-star ranking, but it too has made considerable progress in improving the basic facilities that were lacking because of opening prematurely. The airport is now able to handle around 43 million passengers a year with a projected maximum capacity of 45 million. The government is already considering doubling this, to handle future demand.

Just for the record, Skyscanner flight search, an internet portal that covers the aviation industry, lists the airlines that fly to Phuket, as follows: Thai Airways, Thai AirAsia, Malaysian Airlines, SilkAir, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, China Southern, Asian Airlines, Air Berlin, Transaero Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Dragonair, Shanghai Airlines, Condor, Jetstar, V Australia, China Airlines, Tiger Airways, Ethiad Airways, Lufthansa, Air Canada, Austrian Airlines, SAS, ANA, SkyStar Airways, Gulf Air, Virgin Blue, Air France, Firefly, United Airlines, Air New Zealand, TUIfly, Qantas, Caribbean Star and Blu-express.

By Alastair Carthew, a Phuket based writer and communications advisor.
Tel: +66 (0)76 317929 Email: alastaircarthew@gmail.com