BAR president Brian Sinclair-Thompson yesterday said airline operators wanted to operate solely from the new Suvarnabhumi Airport as they had already invested in facilities and infrastructure there.

"The opening of two airports in Bangkok - Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang - was not a good solution for airlines because the airlines cannot move operations and people around," said Sinclair-Thompson, who is also general manager, Thailand, for Swiss International Air Lines.

Using only the new airport would help passengers in transit to catch their connecting domestic and international flights more easily, he said at a meeting organised by the Thailand Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators in Bangkok yesterday.

Seventy per cent of passengers at Suvarnabhumi Airport are transit passengers, he said, adding that travellers do not want to spend much time at airports.

The BAR will also propose that the government stop operating domestic flights from Don Mueang and use it to serve only charter, non-commercial and special flights.

Sinclair-Thompson said the BAR would discuss the matter with the government, Airports of Thailand (AOT) and the Civil Aviation Department.

"We know that this is not an easy matter, but we expect the change will take six months to two years," he said.

He said airlines wanted the government to develop more facilities and services at Suvarnabhumi Airport instead of spending money on resurrecting Don Mueang, which was closed for a brief period until the military-installed government reopened it for some domestic flights.

They also want the AOT to build a mid-field terminal at Suvarnabhumi to increase the airport's capacity to 60 million passengers a year.

The BAR president also called on airport authorities to add more contact gates to serve large aircraft like the Airbus A380, improve the turnaround services for aircraft and complete the construction of another runway that had been suspended.

Another important request is to consider reducing the airport charges, particularly parking and landing fees, as well as 10 other airport service fees.

"AOT charges airport fees 15- to 20-per-cent higher than most regional airports, including rivals Singapore and Malaysia," Sinclair-Thompson said.

All these factors could cost the country the chance to become a regional aviation hub, he added.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is developing a new airport in Ho Chi Minh City that can handle up to 100 million passengers per year, Singapore plans to open a third airport terminal by the first quarter of next year and Kuala Lumpur and Dubai are expanding their airports.

"There will be tough competition in the aviation industry and airlines are facing troubles ahead, so they could move operations to places with higher returns," Sinclair-Thompson said.

In the past 10 years, 13 airlines have stopped operating out of Thailand for business reasons, he said.

Sinclair-Thompson added that European carriers were forecasting zero traffic growth at Suvarnabhumi Airport this year and some of them might stop services due to the overall situation in the country, as well as the lack of profit from Bangkok sales.

"This would affect tourist arrivals. We would like to see a balance of quality inbound tourists, and not have to count on just low-cost, short-haul travellers or medical tourism from the Middle East. The low-cost passenger market generates shorter lengths of stay and less spending compared to the European travellers," he said.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation