Chiangmai airport completes B2bn upgrade into regional hub

With the completion of its 2-billion-baht expansion, Chiang Mai International Airport now has an infrastructure that can support its aspiration to become a truly regional aviation hub.
The airport can now handle 8 million passengers a year, up from 3 million previously. The enlarged passenger terminal features a new section for international passengers and an upgraded domestic wing.
The new terminal takes a hint of inspiration from the style of the ancient Kingdom of Lanna, in what is now northern Thailand. The building covers 31,301 square metres and is designed to handle 2 million international passengers and 6 million domestic travellers.

The expansion began in 2004 and comprised 14 individual projects, which were carried out in phases until the recent completion of construction.

Ironically, the expansion began when the prospects for growth in air traffic through this northern capital were rosy, before Thailand encountered troubles including a coup, political unrest and economic crisis.
In the event, traffic through Chiang Mai has grown slowly in recent years, not even reaching the airport's original capacity.

Passengers passing through the airport in the fiscal year to September 2009 were 2.87 million, down 12.3% from the year before. Flight frequencies fell by 9.9% to 22,882, with cargo down by 21.5% to 17,617 tonnes, as Thailand underwent a series of negative impacts.

It has been questioned whether the expansion was premature and its scale was excessive.
But executives of Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), the majority state-owned firm that operates the country's six main airports including Suvarnabhumi and Chiang Mai, defend the expansion as a long-term investment.

Infrastructure needs to be in place with spare capacity to meet growth should Chiang Mai want to attract traffic and become an air hub, they said.

With the completion of the Chiang Mai expansion, AoT will begin to seriously woo international carriers to make Chiang Mai their port of call. Its immediate target is to attract Chinese airlines to link Chiang Mai with Kunming, the route that Thai Airways International (THAI) used to run, said the airport's general manager Wisit Eiwprapha.

Eight international airlines operate through Chiang Mai with a total of 50 flights per week. They are THAI, Bangkok Airways, China Airlines, SilkAir, Lao Aviation, AirAsia, Korean Air and Air Bagan.

Six domestic carriers - THAI, Bangkok Airways, Orient Thai Airlines, Nor Air and Nok Mini - run 465 flights a week through Chiang Mai.

Meanwhile, plans are under way to build a terminal for private jets at Chiang Mai to meet growing demand.
A feasibility study is being carried out for the proposed terminal, which could either be built and managed by the private sector under a concession granted by AoT, or else developed and run by AoT. "We should have a clear picture about the project within this year," said Mr Wisit.

The facility may cost about 5 million baht to build and should be up and running in 2011 or 2012, he said.
AoT president Serirat Prasutanond said the upgrade of facilities and services at Chiang Mai has made the airport eligible to contest to become one of the world's best airports in the category of processing fewer than 5 million passengers a year. It will this year join the customer satisfaction rating conducted by the Geneva-based Airports Council International (ACI). (Source: Bangkok Post)

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