AoT: Turn Don Mueang into second hub

BANGKOK, 2 April 2013: Airports of Thailand says it will open Don Mueang Airport to all international airlines putting it on an equal par with Suvarnabhumi Airport.

According to the local newspapers, AoT has confirmed the plan, late last week, after the shift in policy was approved by the board of directors.

But as 70% of the company’s shares are still owned by the government, the plan will have to be approved by the Cabinet.

The decision, if ratified by the Cabinet, will open Don Mueang to all airlines regardless of their business model. Today, the airport is open to domestic airlines, low-cost airlines, charters and regional airlines that serve point-to-point routes and do not need to offer connections to other services or airlines.

International scheduled airlines all operate out of Suvarnabhumi Airport, but the plan is to offer them an option at Don Mueang.

AoT officials hinted that the OneWorld alliance, led by Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways, have expressed interest in using Don Mueang airport.

The airlines group also suggested that the airport should be expanded to allow for giant Airbus A380 aircraft to use the airport.

Bangkok’s main international airport, Suvarnabhumi, has the capacity of 45 million passengers per year. It is now handling over 51 million passengers per year and is needs to be extended urgently to keep pace with growth.

It is also an unpopular airport with many Bangkok residents who prefer the older facilities of Don Mueang Airport. The main causes for complaint are the long queues at immigration checkpoints and the distances between check-in points and departure gates.

The Thai government closed Don Mueang Airport when the new airport opened in 2008 based on recommendations from IATA and airlines that argued it was uneconomical to have two airports in the city. They were proved wrong mainly due to the massive growth in passenger traffic to Bangkok that swamped Suvarnabhumi.

Airport of Thailand expects Don Mueang airport will be able to handle 60 million passengers by 2017 taking considerable pressure of Suvarnabhumi.

In a recent cabinet resolution dated June 2012, AoT officials contended the restrictions on the use of Don Mueang Airport were counterproductive to the development of the country’s travel industry. Therefore, the airport should be open to all commercial air services to assume a role of a full-service hub.

The impediment to achieving that is the wording of a Thai Cabinet resolution that stated Don Mueang would cater only to low-cost carriers with point-to-point overseas and local services.

The resolution clearly runs counter to the government’s dual-airport policy to transform Don Mueang into a second international gateway alongside Suvarnabhumi.

AoT senior executive vice president, Somchai Sawasdeepon, said the airport would have a hard time to attract more traffic if the current resolution is not amended.

Don Mueang Airport (DMK) regained its international airport status last November after AirAsia moved all of its regional services out of Suvarnabhumi. Of all the domestic airlines use it as their home base with the exception of THAI and Bangkok Airways that continue to serve their domestic networks from Suvarnabhumi, due to the need to provide connecting services for international flights.

Sourced: ttrweekly