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Published on March 12, 2008

It was about a public hearing on the planned construction of a second airport on Koh Samui, the hugely popular tourist destination.

What made it strange was the fact that any advertisement about a public hearing really should have been placed by the Civil Aviation Department, which is sponsoring the proposal. But, no name was attached to it.

The advertisement said Samui Airport was not so overloaded that a second airport was necessary.

I think this message speaks volumes about who sponsored the advertisement, but I won't elaborate here.

I remember talking about this issue with a senior official at Airports of Thailand. The official said the proposal needed to be thoroughly considered, given that a new airport would mean cutting down a swath of coconut plantations while the island is already facing pollution problems with a massive increase in the number of visitors. The official agreed that the airport's utilisation could be increased to accommodate more flights.

For years, Bangkok Airways has monopolised Samui Airport and been the exclusive provider of air transportation to the island. As we all know, the monopoly has never benefited consumers since air fares to the island are costly.

Bangkok Airways charges B8,940 for a round-trip ticket. But if you're ready to take the 6am or 9pm flight, it costs B5,840. Know what? Flying to Phuket now costs less than Bt5,850 and even less by low-cost airlines, even though Bangkok is much further from Phuket than Koh Samui: 862 kilometres, compared with 644km.

Twice-daily flights to Koh Samui on Thai Airways International (THAI) do not help much in bringing down the fares. Until March 31, the airline is charging Bt6,710, but later the fare will rise to Bt7,410.

I overheard someone saying THAI needed to charge high prices due to the landing fee levied by Bangkok Airways. The fee after March 31 will rise 10 per cent to Bt100,000 per flight, leading to THAI's fare rise.

Certainly, if a second airport made travelling to Koh Samui cheaper, the public would welcome it. Still, they must also bear in mind that becoming a cheaper destination means larger crowds and more pollution.

On the other hand, a second airport may soon be used to ship garbage off the island.

Okay, let's leave this to the locals, who are expected to express their opinions at the public hearing today.

achara_d@nationgroup.com

Achara Deboonme

The Nation