Phuket Grounds The Jet Set

Both the media and private sector is buzzing in the aftermath of Phuket International Airport's (PIA) unexpected 16-day closure to private aircraft during the holiday season.
During the time private aircraft were rerouted to Krabi, Surat Thani and Bangok's Don Mueang.
Airport operator AoT has placed the blame on high volumes of regularly scheduled flights and charter traffic, and the current apron upgrading process.
Many of the traffic spikes come from the long-haul charter flights from Europe, which tend to have landing time variances due to weather factors, as well as connecting domestic flights from Bangkok who are delayed waiting for international arrivals.
The Bangkok Post published a piece which private aviation firm Mjets that over 50 flights were lost during the airport issue during Christmas and New Year.
At the same time Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport has plans to build a USD8.3 million private airport terminal to attract the luxury crowd.