Authorities ease restrictions on high-capacity Koh Samui flights

Authorities ease restrictions on high-capacity Koh Samui flights

BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA

Environmental authorities have given the green light to airlines that want to operate higher-capacity aircraft and offer more flights through the privately run Samui Airport.

The recent approval of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning would lead to a 62% increase in permitted aircraft seat capacity to and from the island in the Gulf of Thailand.

As part of the approval, carriers would be allowed to operate two additional daily flights beyond the previous maximum of 34 flights per day while using two more aircraft types, the Airbus 319 and Boeing 737-400.

The endorsement allows Bangkok Airways, which controls the bulk of air services through the airport that it owns and manages, to use the larger A319, capable of seating 144 passengers.

As well, it paves the way for Thai Airways International (THAI) to introduce two daily flights between Bangkok and Samui, which were planned for several years but never materialised due to Samui Airport's runway constraints and regulatory limits.

Environmental authorities previously allowed only two types of aircraft, Boeing 717-200 jetliners (120 seats) and ATR 72 propeller planes (70 seats), both of which were operated by Bangkok Airways.

Thai Airways has planned to use B737-400 jets, each capable of carrying 149 passengers, for flights to and from Samui. The EIA endorsement took into consideration the environmental impact the flights would have on the island and its residents, particularly those living near the airport.

The approvals would benefit Bangkok Airways as it can use the higher-capacity A319 on Samui flights, allowing it to carry significantly more passengers.

It fits well with Bangkok Airways' plan to operate more A319s as it retires older planes. Last June, it put the first of seven brand-new Airbus 319s into service. The second and third are due for delivery in the second quarter of next year.

It also sets the stage for THAI to break the monopoly that Bangkok Airways has held at Samui since it opened the airport in 1989.

Perhaps more importantly, greater seat capacity caters to air traffic demand through Samui, which is rising by 10% a year. Passenger traffic through Samui Airport has risen from 755,961 in 2001 to 1.43 million in 2006 and is expected to exceed 1.5 million in 2007.

About 80% of the passengers who visit Samui are holidaymakers, mostly from Europe. Samui Airport is capable of handling larger aircraft thanks to the extension of the runway, which is now 2,060 metres long.

The airport's new 500-million-baht passenger terminal, four times larger than the old one and capable of handling up to 16,000 passengers a day, was also completed earlier this year.