Some low-cost airlines are bullish about returning to Don Muang, but others are reluctant to leave behind the expensive Suvarnabhumi facilities they paid for.

The Cabinet last week approved the reopening of Bangkok International Airport for overseas flights.

Bangkok Airways vice president Putthipong Prasarttong-osoth told Krungthep Turakij that the airline had spent between Bt300 million and Bt400 million on a new passenger lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport and had built new catering and cargo facilities.

Bangkok Airways flies between 90 and 100 flights each day from Suvarnabhumi. Between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of its passengers arrive from and depart for overseas destinations, making a return to Don Muang inconvenient.

It said two airports would create confusion. Bangkok Airways will ask Airports of Thailand (AOT) for more details before making a decision.

An aviation source said international airlines had spent Bt300 million building passenger lounges, installing information systems and other services at Suvarnabhumi. Air France and British Airways built extra-large passenger lounges.

"Airlines have lost confidence. Now the government is using two airports when it had, until now, always supported a single airport, as in most cities," the source said.

Thai Airways International spent Bt15 billion building catering and cargo facilities, installing ground-service equipment and an aircraft-maintenance centre at Suvarnabhumi.

The airline plans to move some flights to Don Muang, costing it more to replace facilities and equipment.

Some observers said Thai Airways would take longer than others to break even from its Suvarnabhumi spending. Its catering service will be affected because it serves both airports, cooking 65,000 meals each day.

The airline's union objected to the reopening of Don Muang as a second international airport, saying it was money wasted. It will complain to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont tomorrow and is threatening to protest if the government does nothing.

Swiss Air manager Sopin Deangteth said it had spent Bt10 million at the new airport. Most airlines want to remain at Suvarnabhumi and disagree with the two-airport idea, she said.

That view accords with the International Air Transport Association, which said two airports would dash Thailand's hope of becoming a regional aviation hub. Two airports are inefficient, it said.

The Board of Airline Representatives in Thailand, a grouping of about 70 carriers, disagrees with two airports and will tell the Transport Ministry and AOT this week.

Some airlines support the move. One-Two-Go chief executive Udom Tantiprasongchai insisted the low-cost airline wanted to return, saying it was more convenient for passengers to get to Don Muang.

"We support the reopening," he said.

Suvarnabhumi Airport will become crowded very soon due to an increasing number of passengers generated by low-cost airlines, he said.

Udom added that the number of domestic passengers was expected to rise 20 per cent this year and the trend would continue.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand said the last few months of 2006 had seen 3.3 million passengers arrive at Suvarnabhumi, bringing the total for both airports for the year to 9.8 million arrivals. In September, Suvarnabhumi welcomed 693,284 arrivals, but that rose quickly to 733,429 in October, 896,696 in November and 981, 060 in December.

One-Two-Go will spend Bt40 million moving back to Don Muang but expects to sell more seats from the old airport.

Nok Air chief executive Patee Sarasin is in favour of Don Muang, hoping to see costs fall.

"We are ready to move to Don Muang," he said.