Betong flights cancelled just days after Prayut launches commercial operation

[webfact]

 

By Panithan Onthaworn

 

Nok Airline, one of Thailand’s low-cost carriers, has cancelled its flights to Betong International Airport just days after the Prime Minister’s opening of the first commercial flight. Officials said the event was prompted by marketing blunders.

 

On Monday, PM Prayut Chan-ocha and cabinet members joined the airport’s opening ceremony in Yala province by taking the first commercial flight operated by Nok Air, with goals to boost tourism and investment in the South. 

 

However, the Airport Department announced that the flights at Betong have been cancelled due to “errors in marketing plans,” and they have reached out to the airline to clarify the matter. Local media reported that there are insufficient bookings for each flight.

 

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Full story: https://www.thaienquirer.com/38616/betong-flights-cancelled-just-days-after-prayut-launches-commercial-operation/

 

-- © Copyright Thai Enquirer 2022-03-16

 

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[LivinLOS]

Another win for the PMs PR team.. 

Slow clap fellas.. slow clap.. 

[Will B Good]

I guess the argument was .....no one wants to go there because there is no airport, so let's build an airport........when really.....no one wants to go there.

[KhunBENQ]

Would anyone expect a rush to the Malaysian border for visa runs etc. at this time?

Yes, engineering success but marketing disaster.

[blazes]

 

 

I have a perhaps irrational fear of boarding a plane that looks like a duck.

[internationalism]

21 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Would anyone expect a rush to the Malaysian border for visa runs etc. at this time?

Yes, engineering success but marketing disaster.

the land border to Malaysia opens in April, same as to Laos.

Those stranded without covid extension will have to do some border crossings.

But rather to get a tourist visa at some consulate close to border.

Vientianne consulate is just across border. Not sure about Malaysia, but possibly Penang

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just what I needed for the day... another good laugh at reading the latest Thai government news.... ????

 

You couldn't make this stuff up any better, if you tried!

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

"The Department of Airports will open the Betong Airport on a 920-rai site 13 kilometres east of the city in January 2022, having been delayed from its original predicted opening date of September 2021.^[5][6] It is projected to cost 1.9 billion baht. Designed to handle 300 arrivals per hour, it is projected to serve one million passengers per year, generating three billion baht for the district."

 

^AND

 

"Tourism is the main driver of the economy of Betong, especially sex tourism. Academic Surang Artnarong has estimated that the town is home to 3,000 to 5,000 sex workers, who primarily service Malaysian tourists."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betong,_Thailand

 

Upon first read of the OP article, being a Bangkok guy,   I didn't know what/where Betong was/is.... But now I'm clued in!  ????

 

A 2 BILLION baht airport... being used for what now???

 

 

[Cake Monster]

An Airport built on a non existent Tourist Demand.

[hotchilli]

36 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

An Airport built on a non existent Tourist Demand.

Won't be the last.

[RichardColeman]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

However, the Airport Department announced that the flights at Betong have been cancelled due to “errors in marketing plans,” and they have reached out to the airline to clarify the matter. Local media reported that there are insufficient bookings for each flight.

Brilliant ! I guess we will be describing the lack of Russians as Marketing Errors soon too, and about 13,000,000 tourists less this year due to marketing errors

[Sydebolle]

Well, they must have copied that from the PDR Laos. 

The cognoscenti will recall Attapeu airport (IATA: AOU, ICAO: VLAP) in the Southeast of the country. Opened with lots of noise, red carpet and winged in PMs from Laos and Vietnam as the airport was in payment for (il-)legal logging in the namesake province to the tune of USD 36 million. Not a gift by the Vietnamese but a very, very good deal for them as it was built by Vietnamese as well. 

The same is taking place with the unfinished airport of Sam Neua (IATA: NEU, ICAO: VLSN)in Laos' Huaphanh province in the very Northeast - also bordering Vietnam. This project is snail-moving for years on years. Unlike Attapeu, which did not have an airport before, Sam Neua does in the suburbs of the town serving the odd Cessna flight from Vientiane - once in a blue moon. 

Both airports share the same; nobody really needs them, they were built to legalize murky deals and could be considered yet another valid asset to the collection of Laos' "white elephants". And, if we are it, remember the only Lao-Myanmar friendship bridge in Northwestern Laos. Opened with big fanfare (despite the time zone difference of 30 minutes!) but never operative due to the fact, that these two countries governments are absolutely incompetent congregations of clowns who, once the commissions and pourboire are pocketed, walk away like sh1tting pigeons .....

Betong (IATA: BTZ; ICAO: VTSY) might be enlisted in the same category of aerodromes, built and opened for the sake of building and opening it ....... 

[Tropicalevo]

Sorry, but I find it difficult to understand why people would fly to Betong.

 

"Prayut has now ordered authorities to tighten security in every area, especially around vulnerable spots such as transport and railway roads in the area."

From The Thaiger March 11th.

 

https://thethaiger.com/news/south/insurgency/prayut-orders-tight-security-amidst-new-southern-bomb-attack

[1duckyboy]

If you build it, they will come. Nope.

[Paul Henry]

Without doubt another well thought through plan by the brilliant minds that run the country.

Meanwhile millions of tourists and Thais living overseas are waiting for the Government to change the ridiculous border entry law to change so they may come here without all the hoops to jump through. Now that all the countries bordering Thailand have open borders how long can the greedy decision makers keep up the facade of the safe boarders which they are milking all the way to the bank. We will see a change before July, they cannot sit by and watch all the tourist money going to other countries. Greed will always drive the decisions.

[kimamey]

1 hour ago, Tropicalevo said:

Sorry, but I find it difficult to understand why people would fly to Betong.

 

"Prayut has now ordered authorities to tighten security in every area, especially around vulnerable spots such as transport and railway roads in the area."

From The Thaiger March 11th.

 

https://thethaiger.com/news/south/insurgency/prayut-orders-tight-security-amidst-new-southern-bomb-attack

A lot of western governments advise against travel to that area so that might put a lot of people off visiting plus any insurance would probably be invalidated. My wife's friend worked in Songkhla in givens offices for a while for which they get paid extra and she said it was a case of going from home to the office and back.  She was probably in a government house insure as well. I don't know if there are any on here living in the south who can give a picture of what it's like? It's possible my wife may have to work there.

 

I do remember seeing an article by a Dutch guy who decided to travel down to the border and it looked a great experience. 

[blackshadow]

ducks can fly very well and swim !!!

[MarcelV]

4 hours ago, kimamey said:

A lot of western governments advise against travel to that area so that might put a lot of people off visiting plus any insurance would probably be invalidated. My wife's friend worked in Songkhla in givens offices for a while for which they get paid extra and she said it was a case of going from home to the office and back.  She was probably in a government house insure as well. I don't know if there are any on here living in the south who can give a picture of what it's like? It's possible my wife may have to work there.

 

I do remember seeing an article by a Dutch guy who decided to travel down to the border and it looked a great experience. 

I live in the south and things are not at all they way they seem from the outside. Shame this airport was opened at the tail end of the Covid pandemic. It could have been an instant success otherwise.

[BusyB]

'Designed to handle 300 arrivals per hour, ...'

 

Really? 5 arrivals a minute?

I'm sure approach/landing/runway clearance separation minima would forbid that even in Heathrow. Looks like another TAT wet dream.

[impulse]

20 minutes ago, BusyB said:

'Designed to handle 300 arrivals per hour, ...'

 

Really? 5 arrivals a minute?

I'm sure approach/landing/runway clearance separation minima would forbid that even in Heathrow. Looks like another TAT wet dream.

That's 300 passengers, not 300 flights.

 

The airport may pay out anyway (for someone) when drug lords land their unscheduled flights...  It would be interesting to see a motion activated CCTV on the runway.

 

[impulse]

5 hours ago, kimamey said:

She was probably in a government house insure as well. I don't know if there are any on here living in the south who can give a picture of what it's like? It's possible my wife may have to work there.

My oil company had a base in Songkhla and I would have moved there in a heartbeat if they had let me.  I always tried to make my trips to tack on an extended weekend and a day or 2 of vacation time.  The weekend market is a lot of fun, they keep the beaches (generally) clean, the street food is amazing, and it's very family oriented.  Don't go if you don't like Muslims, but I found them to be extremely friendly.

 

If I decide to retire to Thailand, Songkhla is high on the list of places I'd move to.

 

Edit:  That's Songkhla the city.  The rest of the province, I don't know.  Shopping is better in Hat Yai, but that didn't interest me once Lazada started up.

 

[Andycoops]

The curse of the Muppet Too strikes again.

People should learn to keep that numpty as far away from their business as possible.

[mtls2005]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mlytrKceIo

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuTf2rgzxuk&t=560s

 

 

[Mavideol]

this guy and his government are the masters or U Turns 555

[Mavideol]

On 3/16/2022 at 3:46 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

"The Department of Airports will open the Betong Airport on a 920-rai site 13 kilometres east of the city in January 2022, having been delayed from its original predicted opening date of September 2021.^[5][6] It is projected to cost 1.9 billion baht. Designed to handle 300 arrivals per hour, it is projected to serve one million passengers per year, generating three billion baht for the district."

 

^AND

 

"Tourism is the main driver of the economy of Betong, especially sex tourism. Academic Surang Artnarong has estimated that the town is home to 3,000 to 5,000 sex workers, who primarily service Malaysian tourists."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betong,_Thailand

 

Upon first read of the OP article, being a Bangkok guy,   I didn't know what/where Betong was/is.... But now I'm clued in!  ????

 

A 2 BILLION baht airport... being used for what now???

 

 

as you, had no idea where it was but thanks to you I now know a place with a population of 24,688  and more then 10% of them are sex workers..... great touristic attraction   555

[Nojohndoe]

It is  very easy to deride the outcome of a scheme that was initiated before the global impact of covid-19. .

I look forward to similar exposes' of the apparent  folly of investors in desirous international projects intent on extracting  profit from what was a perceived  market of dispensable excess in income !

If there is  no more of an indicator of social  economic devolvement than the "tourism " industry versus the refugee crisis then  what else need be presented  to illustrate the gross collapse of existent human prevalence ?

The regret is much less about the social impact than about  the individual specific  !

ho hum

 

[Chris.B]

"and they have reached out to the airline to clarify"

 

Can't stand this woke claptrap stuff.  ☹️☹️

[impulse]

On 3/18/2022 at 5:35 AM, Mavideol said:

as you, had no idea where it was but thanks to you I now know a place with a population of 24,688  and more then 10% of them are sex workers..... great touristic attraction   555

Quite possible that cross border nookie is the town's entire raison d'être.  With the other 90% cleaning the sheets, feeding the girls and their customers, counting the money...

[rott]

Never even heard of it, been to Hat Yai, Kolok, Yala and Narathiwat. Is there a border crossing there.? Which is the nearest town.? 

[MarcelV]

On 3/19/2022 at 10:10 PM, rott said:

Never even heard of it, been to Hat Yai, Kolok, Yala and Narathiwat. Is there a border crossing there.? Which is the nearest town.? 

Betong is about 130 km south of Yala and is the southernmost town in Thailand.

There is a border crossing just south of town, connecting with Pengkalan Hulu in Perak State.

Betong is really remote, so an airport makes sense. However, a majority of tourists are from Malaysia and most of them drive across the border themselves.