The suspension was reported by the Phuket Info Center (PIC) yesterday (Jan 19).
Phuket Provincial Police and the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO), which is responsible for all public transport on the island, still have yet to publicly recognise the incident.
The branch of Airports of Thailand that operates Phuket airport (AoT Phuket) has reportedly asked the police to press charges of the assault, the PIC report noted.
The report also noted that AoT Phuket had asked the court “to order a ban on entering the area” after finding out that he had a history “of being punished many times before”.
Of note, AoT Phuket has full authority on which taxis and passenger vans may enter airport grounds, a point AoT Phuket made very clear when banning taxi app drivers in the name of “security’.
According to the Phuket Info Center, the driver, Kiattisak Tharaporn, 40, apologised for the assault.
The assault gained attention from local officials only after a video of the incident started to go viral on local social media channels, showing the assault taking place in full view of tourists at the airport.