PHUKET: Low-flying aircraft brought people onto the streets of Phuket City today as Phuket International Airport conducted tests on a new approach-path system.
The noise from three flights between 9.30am and 9.45am was loud and timely.
Phuket flights and passenger numbers are increasing, but not to ''breaking point,'' the General Manager of the airport, Wing Commander Prathuang Somkhom, said today.
''We can cope now and we will be able to cope into the future,'' he said.
More than a million passengers passed through Phuket in January - a first for Phuket - and a million more are expected this month, he said, adding that the board of Airports of Thailand and the Transport Minister will be discussing Phuket's future at a meeting on Phuket on March 9.
Phuket International Airport remains Phuket's most important piece of infrastructure and, for a facility built to handle 6.5 million passengers, it had to find something extra to cope with 8.4 million people coming and going in 2011.
''The growth rate of tourism on Phuket continues to surpass everyone's expectations,'' the wing commander said.
''But there's no sense that we will somehow reach a point where we can't handle more people who want to come to the region.''
The meeting on March 9 may well crystalise for the first time a strategy for air traffic to the Andaman region. Already some planners have suggested a speed-rail link between Phuket and Krabi airports to cope with continued tourism growth.
''We need to look at the whole picture,'' Wing Commander Prathuang said. The expanded airport, which will make Phuket as large as it can get, will be able to cope with 12.5 million passengers when it's complete in mid-2015.
But Phuket tourism remains at full-throttle expansion and that number could be reached at current accelleration well before 2015.
''The board of AoT will need to look at the whole picture,'' the wing commander said. ''The other airports in the vicinity - Krabi, Trang and Ranong - will all have to be considered, too.''
The March 9 summit on Phuket is expected to set out a strategy for tourism on Phuket that will be endorsed when Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her Cabinet meet on Phuket on March 19-20.
It's the first time a Cabinet meeting has taken place on Phuket since 2003.
A number of important issues are expected to be resolved then, including the current rampant privatisation and degradation of Phuket's beaches, the need for a public transport network that offers alternatives to the rip-off prices of local taxis and tuk-tuks, and the provision of improved hospitals and schools.
A strategy for future development of the Andaman region is likely to recognise Phuket's rapid growth towards becoming an island-city as well as the need to retard development of surrounding provinces to preserve the natural appeal.
Today's ''big noise'' from flights over Phuket City was caused because the new Precision approach path Indicator (PAPI) needed to be tested properly, Phuketwan was told.
The PAPI is a series of lights positioned beside the runway. Each light unit consists of one or more light sources, red filters and lenses. Each light unit emits a high intensity beam.
The noise from three flights between 9.30am and 9.45am was loud and timely.
Phuket flights and passenger numbers are increasing, but not to ''breaking point,'' the General Manager of the airport, Wing Commander Prathuang Somkhom, said today.
''We can cope now and we will be able to cope into the future,'' he said.
More than a million passengers passed through Phuket in January - a first for Phuket - and a million more are expected this month, he said, adding that the board of Airports of Thailand and the Transport Minister will be discussing Phuket's future at a meeting on Phuket on March 9.
Phuket International Airport remains Phuket's most important piece of infrastructure and, for a facility built to handle 6.5 million passengers, it had to find something extra to cope with 8.4 million people coming and going in 2011.
''The growth rate of tourism on Phuket continues to surpass everyone's expectations,'' the wing commander said.
''But there's no sense that we will somehow reach a point where we can't handle more people who want to come to the region.''
The meeting on March 9 may well crystalise for the first time a strategy for air traffic to the Andaman region. Already some planners have suggested a speed-rail link between Phuket and Krabi airports to cope with continued tourism growth.
''We need to look at the whole picture,'' Wing Commander Prathuang said. The expanded airport, which will make Phuket as large as it can get, will be able to cope with 12.5 million passengers when it's complete in mid-2015.
But Phuket tourism remains at full-throttle expansion and that number could be reached at current accelleration well before 2015.
''The board of AoT will need to look at the whole picture,'' the wing commander said. ''The other airports in the vicinity - Krabi, Trang and Ranong - will all have to be considered, too.''
The March 9 summit on Phuket is expected to set out a strategy for tourism on Phuket that will be endorsed when Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her Cabinet meet on Phuket on March 19-20.
It's the first time a Cabinet meeting has taken place on Phuket since 2003.
A number of important issues are expected to be resolved then, including the current rampant privatisation and degradation of Phuket's beaches, the need for a public transport network that offers alternatives to the rip-off prices of local taxis and tuk-tuks, and the provision of improved hospitals and schools.
A strategy for future development of the Andaman region is likely to recognise Phuket's rapid growth towards becoming an island-city as well as the need to retard development of surrounding provinces to preserve the natural appeal.
Today's ''big noise'' from flights over Phuket City was caused because the new Precision approach path Indicator (PAPI) needed to be tested properly, Phuketwan was told.
The PAPI is a series of lights positioned beside the runway. Each light unit consists of one or more light sources, red filters and lenses. Each light unit emits a high intensity beam.
It is a welcome step in the right direction that the PM is bringing her cabinet to Phuket for the first time since 2003. I hope it is not the only step & that progress is made in the key areas mentioned, with serious issues tackled to conclusion.
The term 'island-city' is scary though as it provokes an image of an island that is 100% built with no scenery!
Posted by Logic on February 28, 2012 14:19
Editor Comment:
Provided the 80-metre limit is maintained, there will be green tops. The sand on the beaches may be hard to find, though.