Airport to expand onsite services

PHUKET: On the 14th anniversary of Phuket International Airport (PIA), Tawat Anukoon, Vice-President of the Airports of Thailand Co, yesterday said that airport services will be improved to cope with an expected rise in the number of aircraft landing at and departing from Phuket. K. Tawat explained that the airport authority expected a 3% rise in air traffic here over the next year. He said the rise would bring traffic back to a level reached in previous years. Over the past year, air traffic fell to 22,912 planes, compared with 25,370 the year before. He also said that in preparation for the high season the airport authority would adopt a more corporate management approach in running airport facilities. “We want to run the airport’s services more like a business unit than a state enterprise. It will give faster service to tourists,” he said. In improving airport services, K. Tawat explained that the authority will allow more airlines and more shops to operate at the airport.