We last reported in September 2013 about the planned airport on Koh Phangan ... so here finally an update on the current situation!
The main investor of the project on Koh Phangan's east coast announced that 2013 would not stand in the way of opening 2014. Over two years have been our last both contributions Koh Phangan Airport passed, but this is still not opened ...
A search on Google brings interesting results:
What sounds like facts here is, however, nowhere near as certain as Kan Air would like us to believe. To make it even clearer, the future of the project is currently in the stars. There are a number of reasons for this:
Difficulties with financing at Kan Air?
The Thai airline has repeatedly announced that an opening is imminent. However, insiders suspect that the operator cannot handle the project alone and is looking for investors in the background by advertising the airport. Recently there have been rumors that these were found with a sponsor from Chumphon. The total costs of the project are already expected to be many times higher, as leveling the site is more difficult than assumed. In the meantime, work has been carried out almost around the clock on the site, but you are still only occupied with leveling the area and so the whole thing doesn't look so much different from above than it did 2 years ago:
Are the necessary licenses not available?
Kan Air had initially spoken of much smaller aircraft than last announced. The fact is, however, that from a certain number of passengers and / or a certain length of the runway other licenses and a study to affect the environment are needed. Kan Air should not have both conditions.
Ultimately, however, these are rumors whose truthfulness we cannot verify. Ultimately, it is quite possible that opponents of the project try to block it with all possible means ... Incidentally, this does not mean the opponents who consider an airport on Koh Phangan to be disadvantageous for the island, because their influence is likely to be negligible. The goal of a public airport between Koh Samui and Koh Phangan is still pursued. The interested parties behind this idea should be clearly against a Kan Air airport. The realization of this project is also rather questionable. The fact is, however, that appropriate studies have been carried out, plans exist, a foreign company is interested in the construction project and it has been presented to the government ...
In any case, it should now be a little more difficult for Kan Air after investigations have shown that parts of the site are in the national park ...
An airport in the middle of the National Park ???
From the beginning, it seemed like a farce that the airport is turning next to the cultural center of the city Than Sadet National Park located. The construction site is even from Haad Sadet visible from. Well, three years after the start of construction and after countless hectares of untouched jungle were irretrievably destroyed (regardless of whether an airport was ever built there), someone had the idea to examine the situation more closely ...
The result: Around 20 Rai (32.000m²) of the project should lie within the Than Sadet National Park! Until further notice, a freeze is imposed and the situation is further investigated. Again, one wonders, of course, why this is happening now, have the relevant responsible people been bribed to look away before or did someone let money flow to bring the airport now to failure?
.... So it remains exciting! We will keep you up to date…
