Thailand: Phuket terminal ready to roll

The long-awaited new passenger terminal at Phuket airport is set to start full-scale commercial operations tomorrow. The launch is scheduled for a minute after midnight tonight, with all international flights operated by 35 airlines shifting from the old terminal to the new facility, which promises to relieve congestion at Thailand's third-busiest airport. Monrudee Gettuphan, Phuket airport's general manager, confirmed yesterday that all systems were ready for the opening, which will be presided over by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday morning. A series of trial runs and simulations that began on Feb 14 this year have been successful, assuring no hiccups when the terminal comes on stream commercially, Ms Monrudee told the Bangkok Post. In the week leading up to the launch, the new terminal, which cost 2.45b baht to build, is handling 800-900 passengers a day on charter flights run by five Chinese carriers. These flights were moved from the airport's ancillary "X" terminal to the new terminal. <br/>