The new terminals
at Samui Airport have now commenced service for all international
flights. This follows the earlier phase on 27 May when domestic flights were all shifted to the new facility. The completion of all terminals makes the airport’s passengers area now four times
bigger than the old terminals. The airport is now able to accommodate up to 16,000 passengers a day.
The official opening of the new-look airport will be in January next year.
The new 500-million-Baht Samui Airport’s terminal comprises four new domestic terminals and two international terminals with a total
passenger area of 73,000 square meters. The check-in area for all domestic and international flights is now at the main single check-in area,
whereas the “meeting point” is designated for all arriving passengers as a common pick-up venue.
The development also includes a walking street, just adjacent to the passengers’ terminal, with boutique-style shops lining abreast. Further
to this development plan, a construction of a 60-room boutique hotel is scheduled for early next year.
Inaugurated in 1989, Samui Airport went public last year after 17 years of a private ownership by Bangkok Airways. The property worth
over ten billion Baht, is the island’s only gateway by air, serving direct flights from Bangkok, Phuket, U-Tapao, Chiang Mai, Singapore,
and Hong Kong. Next year, the airport will see more arrivals from expanding regional connections by Bangkok Airways. Other airlines
operating to Koh Samui include Berjaya Air from Kuala Lumpur and budget airline FireFly from Penang, Malaysia.
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