Don Muang Airport Re-Approved for Domestic Flights

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The following appears in the BANGKOK POST:

 

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/12Jan2007_news01.php

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AoT Backs Rebirth of Don Muang

 

Old Airport to Service Some Domestic Routes

 

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

 

The board of Airports of Thailand Plc yesterday approved the use of Don Muang for domestic flights with no international connections and set March 15 as the possible date for the relaunch of services at the old airport.

 

In an attempt to save costs from expanding Suvarnabhumi airport and to fully use its existing infrastructure, the board led by chairman Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr decided to move to Don Muang domestic flights with no connections to international routes operated by Thai Airways International (THAI) and no-frills carriers. Domestic flights with passengers connecting with international routes will remain at Suvarnabhumi.

 

It targeted March 15 for the resumption of regular services for Don Muang, which was closed on Sept 28, when the country's main airport moved to Suvarnabhumi.

 

The March 15 date was set to allow sufficient time to prepare for an expected surge in air travel to the provinces during the Songkran holiday.

 

Sources in the Airports of Thailand (AoT) board said its president Chotisak Asapaviriya told the meeting that the March 15 move was possible. However, he told reporters afterwards that he could not guarantee complete success.

 

The decision was based on a study by AoT to compare the advantages and disadvantages of expanding Suvarnabhumi against relocating domestic services to Don Muang.

 

The use of Don Muang to ease air traffic at Suvarnabhumi would give officials more flexibility to fix a number of problems at the new airport, sources said.

 

Mr Chotisak said the board has directed AoT to work on the details of the use of Don Muang and forward them to the Transport Ministry _ which oversees the airport agency _ within two weeks. After that the ministry, which has already made clear its preference for Don Muang, needs cabinet approval for the plan.

 

Based on the current volume of passengers, Suvarnabhumi will serve 42 million passengers a year, just three million shy of its full capacity.

 

Don Muang accommodated almost 39 million passengers a year before it was closed to regular flights. It currently services only chartered and special flights.

 

Moving domestic flights with no connections to Don Muang will defer plans to expand the new airport, including the need to build a new terminal to service only local flights in the future.

 

The move will boost revenues at Don Muang, which currently earns only 500,000 baht a month from the chartered and special flights.

 

Don Muang director Pinit Saraithong said the airport was ready for the return to services because none of the facilities, including ground and safety equipment, had been moved to Suvarnabhumi.

 

However, he said the airport needed about 45 days to prepare for the return of regular passengers and to hire more security staff. With existing facilities, Don Muang could serve up to 15 million passengers a year for a decade, he added.

 

Airlines with domestic services _THAI, Nok Air, Thai AirAsia and One-Two-Go _ supported yesterday's decision.

 

Bangkok Airways could not be reached for comment.

 

THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni said the national flag carrier needed one month to move some equipment and hire more staff to be stationed at Don Muang but he said it was not a serious problem for the airline.

 

Mr Apinan said flights serving popular destinations among international passengers such as Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Hat Yai could remain at Suvarnabhumi.

 

Nok Air CEO Patee Sarasin praised the decision, which could save AoT at least 1.4 billion baht from constructing a new domestic building at Suvarnabhumi.

 

One-Two-Go chief executive and founder Udom Tantiprasongchai also hailed the decision, saying it was a ''good decision'' to shift domestic routes to Don Muang.

 

But Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld said the move to Don Muang should be on a voluntary basis. He admitted that the move would affect Thai AirAsia, which needed to rotate its fleets between international and domestic flights.

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BANGKOK, Jan 12 (TNA)

 

Transport Minister Admiral Thira Haocharoen on Friday stated that a proposed scheme to move domestic flights with no forward connections to other routes from Suvarnabhumi to Don Muang Airport had not yet been concluded, saying that another workshop to brainstorm a conclusion on the matter would be held late month or early next month.

 

In a bid to save costs from expanding Suvarnabhumi Airport, the board of Airports of Thailand Plc on Thursday approved the use of Don Muang for domestic flights and set March 15 as the possible date for the relaunch of services at the former international airport.

 

Adm. Thira said the resolution by the AoT board was not deemed final before being submitted for Cabinet approval.

 

Decision-makers needed to heed the opinions of all parties concerned in the private and public sectors again. The workshop would lead to resolution of the issue.

 

"The move of domestic flights to the Don Muang Airport will have wide-ranging repercussions. So, it needs to be studied in detail with caution.

 

"The news that the matter will go before a Cabinet meeting in one or two weeks and that domestic flight services will be re-launched within one to two months cannot yet be affirmed. We need first to consider to the opinions of all parties concerned," he said.

 

Don Muang airport accommodated almost 39 million passengers a year before ending more than 90 years service to regular flights September 27. It currently services only chartered and special flights.

 

Thai Airways International president Apinan Sumanaseni said the AoT board's decision regarding domestic flights should be considered an impractical idea since it could affect schedules of domestic flights linking provinces.

 

For instance, he said, the Mae Hong Son-Pitsanulok-Bangkok flight could not be scheduled under the scheme.

 

So, he believed the matter would not yet be wrapped up. It needs renewed discussions with all parties concerned, particularly between aviation firms, the Transport Ministry and AoT.

 

Tassapol Bijleveld, chief executive of Thai AirAsia, shared the view of the THAI president, saying the opening of domestic flights with no connections with other routes was not practicable.

 

Should the scheme be implemented, the company would experience difficulties in managing its fleet of aircraft since there would need to be shuttles between planes for domestic and international flights.

 

However, in any case he believed the AoT board's resolution would need endorsement by the Transport Ministry.

 

But if the resolution won approval for implementation, he insisted, his company would not relocate its domestic flight services to Don Muang.

 

(TNA)-E005

 

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The following appears in THE NATION:

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DOMESTIC FLIGHTS

Opposition to Don Muang Plan Mounts

 

Travel and Hotel Bodies Warn of Inconvenience, Especially to International Travelers

 

The Association of Domestic Travel (ADT) and the Thai Hotels Association (THA) yesterday voiced their objection to a plan to move most domestic flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Don Muang Airport as it would inconvenience travelers.

 

ADT president Charoen Wangananont said the use of two airports in Bangkok would not help, because those who had to fly on both routes would have to travel from one airport to the other.

 

The two airports are located far apart without a mass-transportation system to connect them yet.

 

"Imagine people living in Ubon Ratchathani province who have to travel abroad. They will need to get a flight to Don Muang Airport and then take a bus or a taxi to Suvarnabhumi Airport, which could take two or three hours on the road, said Charoen.

 

"This will annoy travelers."

 

Earlier this month, the Airports of Thailand (AOT) board of directors approved moving most of the domestic flights from Suvarnabhumi to Don Muang tentatively from March, due to traffic congestion at Suvarnabhumi. The Cabinet is set to make a decision at its meeting next week.

 

Charoen said although AOT had said it would maintain domestic flights with international connection, such as Phuket, at Suvarnabhumi, some travellers connecting to other flights to Phuket from elsewhere would have to go to Don Muang.

 

"The connecting flight time might take longer than flying between Suvarnabhumi and Phuket," he said. Passengers will end up paying more for transportation. Charoen said the plan to revive Don Muang had been proposed without proper study or research, particularly about return on investment.

 

"The government bodies just want to re-use the old airport, but they have not discussed the details in-depth," he added.

 

Charoen suggested using the old airport as an optional or reserved airport rather than for commercial flights.

 

Prakit Chinamourpong, vice president of THA, made the same point, saying the association disagreed with the plan, because it would cause trouble for connecting passengers.

 

Apichart Sankary, president of Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), said that the body had urged the government and AOT to inform the private sector three months before moving domestic flights to Don Muang, so that they could make preparations.

 

"I also told AOT to find out whether they would provide free shuttle buses between the two airports," said Apichart.

 

ATTA urged the government to complete the airport link if it wants to reopen the old airport soon.

 

Representatives of inbound tour operator CTS Travel Asia, and a hotel operator in Phuket, Club Andaman, said they support the reopening of Don Muang Airport as they believed the airport still had a good infrastructure and cheaper operation costs.

 

"The new Suvarnabhumi Airport has been open for just four months, but it has already reached full capacity. So Don Muang can be used to accommodate more flights or charter flights," one of the operators added.

 

The reopening of Don Muang could also help businesses, especially airport hotels and shops, located in the north part of Bangkok.

 

ATTA figures show tourists using its members from January 1-14 totaled 97,501, 9.1 per cent down from 107,265 in the same period last year.

 

Suchat Sritama