Airports of Thailand (AOT) expects to spend between Bt60 to Bt70 million to get Don Muang's international passenger terminal ready for reopening.

That figure excludes money required for the renovation of the other two terminals as well as equipment needed to serve domestic and international flights to be moved from Suvarnabhumi Airport.

AOT has not yet finalised the total budget required for the preparation of Don Muang, said Kulya Pakakrong, its senior executive vice president for finance.

"Preliminarily, when there was the indication that Don Muang would be reopened only for domestic flights, we estimated spending at least Bt60 million for the renovation of the international terminal. AOT has not yet set the budget for airport equipment, which has been removed to Suvarnabhumi," Kulya said after a meeting with Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um yesterday.

The airport operator will next week inform Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen and Sansern of the detailed preparation plan.

The Cabinet's February 6 resolution to turn Don Muang into Bangkok's second international airport means the old airport, shut down in September last year, would need all facilities and equipment available at Suvarnabhumi.

In the 2006 fiscal year ending September 30 - two days after the opening of Suvarnabhumi - AOT's operating costs totalled Bt9.42 billion, a sharp increase from Bt7.3 billion in the previous year. In the same period, its operating income was Bt16.3 billion and Bt14.9 billion, respectively.

Thanachart Securities has recommended selling AOT stocks as operation of both Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi will increase the company's costs.

 A source in the aviation industry noted that the reopening of Don Muang would raise AOT's operating costs by Bt1.5 billion per annum due mainly to staff salaries and maintenance costs. The cost could be covered only if a sufficient number of flights are moved from Suvarnabhumi, he said.

While low-cost airlines Thai AirAsia, One-Two-Go and Nok Air are committed to moving all their flights to Don Muang, Thai Airways International is to review moving all domestic flights and some international flights to Don Muang.

Other international airlines have remained silent on whether they are moving to Don Muang,

Don Muang director Pinit Saraithong believes that not many airlines are keen to move back to the old airport given that they have invested a large sum of money on new offices at Suvarnabhumi.

Dashing the hopes of the low-cost airlines - which expect lower fees at Don Muang - Transport Minister Theera said yesterday that the operating fees at the two airports would be similar for fairness.

"We will discuss with airlines which are adamantly against the reopening of Don Muang. Moving some flights to Don Muang could cause disadvantages but they should make the sacrifice," Theera said.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Airline Operators Committee (AOC) yesterday also urged the government not to cross-subsidise airport charge allocations between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi.

The IATA has expressed concern over plans to reopen Don Muang, saying that operating two airports with a huge gap in service fees between the two would cause trouble for the aviation industry.

To accommodate domestic and international flights at Don Muang, AOT would also need to open bids for duty-free shopping as well as restaurants, along with other services. It also needs to work out rents for commercial areas.

Kulya of the AOT said yesterday that Don Muang is capable of handling up to 40 flights per hour. Though Suvarnabhumi accommodates 55 flights per hour now, around 15 flights would be moved to Don Muang to pave the way for runway repairs.

While the reopening could cause confusion, it is expected to benefit those who operate billboards along Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, which experienced a 50-per-cent drop in income last year due to the opening of Suvarnabhumi as well as other economic factors.

"Agencies should now refocus on advertising products along the road, while billboards on the roads leading to Suvarnabhumi should remain attractive, particularly to international brands," said Noppadol Tansalarak, chairman of the Advertising and Sign Producer Association.

However, hotels in the east could be disadvantaged. Thai Hotels Association Eastern Chapter spokesman Chatchawan Supachayanont said that since Suvarnabhumi opened four months ago, the number of tourists to Pattaya and nearby destinations had increased by 20 per cent from the same period a year earlier.

"Reopening Don Muang would definitely affect the number, but on a relatively small scale," he said.