MJets Becomes Exclusive Handler at Bangkok Don Mueang
Flight planning and handling groups have abandoned Bangkok Don Mueang Airport after Airports of Thailand (AOT) awarded exclusive handling rights for busine

Flight planning and handling groups have abandoned Bangkok Don Mueang Airport after Airports of Thailand (AOT) awarded exclusive handling rights for business aircraft operations to local charter operator MJets. They say they have been compelled to establish alternative handling operations at the Thai capital’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport amid concerns about the new handling operation at Don Mueang. Royal Airport Services, which lost out in the bid, filed a lawsuit in Thailand’s administrative court arguing that AOT did not adhere to the rules of the bidding process. According to a handling expert who attended the bid meeting and spoke to AIN on condition of anonymity, MJets had been excluded from the process for failing to meet the technical requirements, only to be reinstated later and awarded the rights without any further explanation by AOT officials. Universal Weather & Aviation confirmed that it has moved its handling operation to Suvarnabhumi and expressed “surprise” at the awarding of the handling rights to MJets. The ASA Group, which provides support to clients of flight planner Air Routing International as well as other business aircraft operators, also relocated to Suvarnabhumi. MJets began acting as the sole handler for aircraft weighing less than 45 metric tons (99,206 pounds) at Don Mueang on Thursday.