Travellers heading to Phuket will need to wait a little longer before being able to enjoy the comforts of the new international terminal. Nitinai Sirismatthakarn, president of the Airports of Thailand, told the Phuket Gazette that the new terminal won’t open until September at the earliest due to a delay in system testing.
No specific date was given for the terminal’s opening, which was originally supposed to take place in August. At least two months are needed to test all the new systems and ensure they function properly ahead of the opening of the terminal.
“We hope to open the new terminal by the end of September at the latest, at least in time for the National Day of the People’s Republic of China on 1st October,” Nitinai said in an interview with the newspaper. “There are nine computer systems in total that need to be fully operational by the time the terminal opens, such as baggage handling, announcement systems and security systems. Seven of those systems are in place but we are waiting to finalise concessions on two of the less critical ones.”
Once the new international terminal opens, AOT will turn its attention to phase three of Phuket International Airport’s expansion, the Phuket Gazette reported. This phase includes the renovation of the existing terminal to make it a fully operational domestic terminal. The new international terminal is expected to ensure the airport can accommodate 12.5 million passengers annually but AOT figures have shown the airport is already handling that many passengers each year. The airport’s capacity won’t increase until the completion of phase three which will take nearly a year to complete once construction begins.
“Work on renovating the domestic terminal will only begin once the international terminal is complete. Then we will need to partially close the domestic terminal for the renovation while continuing to be fully operational,” Nitinai stated. “Once phase three is complete and the domestic terminal is fully operational, the airport will be able to handle up to 18 million passengers a year.”
