It was announced this week that the Thai authorities plan to ban drones. No doubt countries around the world will have to review their privacy laws in line with new developments in technology which allows people to photograph places that were previously hidden from view.
For a couple of years the site for Koh Phangan Airport at Than Praphad on the east coast of Koh Phangan was open for people to visit. That is not to say that people were officially allowed on the building site, but rather there was nothing to stop people from driving a bike down the rough lane and taking a look around when the workers were not around. This year a gate went up on the site. It seems Kan Air have started taking security a bit more seriously.
This did not stop Florenz Kittel, who has a company based in Koh Samui called Eagle Eyes, from flying one of his drones over the airport site.
There has been a lot of genuine interest about the project especially from tourists hoping to use the planned service to cut down on travel time often looking to go to the Full Moon Party or the other parties in Bantai. Despite little official response from Kan Air, Bangkok Post regularly runs stories about the company to keep the project in the media spotlight. As you can see from the YouTube clip there is a lot of work remaining to be done. There has been mention of Kan Air looking for financial partners for the new airport.
Putting all this speculation to one side, the clip does show the beauty of the east coast of Koh Phangan – the sheer cliffs, the virgin forest and the hilly terrain.
