Phuket airport restricts beach access

PHUKET Phuket International Airport has intensified security at a beach near the runway as more beachgoers visit that area to take photographs and videos of landing aircraft.

According to the airport statement security will be improved along the beach to reduce risks for tourists and the aircraft that take off and land.

There are concerns about the health risk to people who encroach on a beach area to take photographs of aircraft up close as they land or take-off. But it is also a potential security risk for aircraft.

Notices will be placed in Thai, English and Chinese warning visitors not to stray on to the beach that is directly adjacent to the airport and passes across the landing and take off path.

People can visit the nearby beach as normal, but cannot enter the restricted area to take photos or videos due to safety risks and a potential terrorist threats, the airport warned.

In other Phuket news, tourists are warned to avoid places of entertainment and restaurants that have a track record for violence towards foreign visitors. Some restaurants in Patong Bay, Phuket, hire bouncers and there have been incidents when tourists have been beaten badly when they complained about exorbitant pricing.

In the latest incident reported by Thai newspapers and ThaiVisa.com, last week, a restaurant’s bouncers attacked a German tourist when he complained about the bill. He was admitted to the ICU at a local hospital suffering from extensive injuries including a blood clot on the brain.

Embassy officials reportedly advised that it would be wise to report the incident as an accident if he wanted his insurance to cover the hospitalization costs and to quietly return to Germany without filing a complaint.

Tourists are being warned that in the event they sustain injuries in a fight, or argument, they should be aware that travel insurance does not cover their treatment expenses.