The Betong Tourism Association has revealed that the organization and businesses in Betong’s tourism sector have discussed a plan to guarantee 60 seats on each Nok Air flight bound for the newly opened airport in exchange for the airline agreeing to reduce round-trip fares from Bangkok to 5,000 baht.
Narin Ruengwongsa, the association’s vice-president, said tour operators tabled the offer with the airline, which agreed to reduce round-trip ticket prices to approximately 6,000 baht.
Given that those tickets are now around 7,000 baht, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has urged the airline to cover the difference of 1,000 baht – a suggestion Nok Air has not yet approved.
Narin stated that the TAT will continue to discuss the matter with all parties involved. If the TAT is successful in reaching an agreement with Nok Air, services to and from Betong will resume on May 2.
Nok Air’s services between Bangkok and Betong were suspended shortly after they began on March 14th. The airline cited a lack of passenger interest in its decision to suspend operations.
Separately, Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon dismissed concerns about possible operational glitches at the southern airport, following reports that the Southern Border Provinces Administration Center was seeking additional funding to assist the Department of Airports in funding the airport’s operations.
Gen Prawit insisted the airport is operational in his capacity as chair of a panel on the development of southern border provinces. He stated that operations will not be impacted while the budget request is resolved.(NNT)
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