Prime Minister sees expansion plan for Loei Airport
18 September 2018
Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has attended a meeting to study an expansion plan for Loei Airport. The expansion would accommodate four narrow-body jets and handle up to 1.7 million travelers per year.
Gen Prayut arrived in Loei, along with members of the Cabinet, to follow up on the province’s development programs. In his first meeting, the PM was briefed by Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith regarding the 730-million-baht expansion of Loei Airport.
Loei Airport is situated on a 2.28-square-kilometer site that can currently accommodate two Boeing 737 narrow-body jets and operate three flights a day. The airport can handle 150 passengers per hour or 400,000 passengers per year. The 2,100-square-meter terminal also has parking for 100 cars. Since the beginning of the year, the airport has welcomed over 300,000 travelers, 80% of whom were tourists.
The expansion plan consists of renovations to the aviation security system, runway reinforcement, a fence around the airport’s premises, personnel and vehicle checkpoints, and an additional passenger terminal to accommodate up to 900,000 passengers per year, more than double its current capacity. In its second phase, the plan will increase its capacity to handle up to 1.7 million passengers per year, create parking space for 300 vehicles, and tarmac space to accommodate four Boeing 737 jets.
While the plan was originally scheduled for completion in 2024, the meeting discussed accelerating the timeline to finish the work by 2020, so the airport can quickly serve as a customs hub and handle international flights.
