Bangkok new airport officially open

[Seth K 3]

Bangkok's new airport opens after coup

 

BANGKOK, Thailand - Fate hurled an array of obstacles to block the completion of Bangkok's new international airport — corruption scandals, a deadly fire, and even a coup — but the sleek new hub is finally opening.

 

Built on an area known as "Cobra Swamp," the luckless Suvarnabhumi Airport will officially open its doors Thursday, more than four decades after the project originated.

 

Over the weekend, 99 monks and Brahmin priests performed a ceremony to apologize to the spirits of the land for any offenses committed during the construction of the airport, along with the spirits of animals who died on what was once swampland infested with snakes and other creatures.

 

The last hurdle came on Sept. 19: A military coup ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who had pushed for a timely completion of the airport and touted Suvarnabhumi as one of his administration's crowning achievements.

 

The coup has stolen the spotlight from Suvarnabhumi, which, prior to the military takeover, was the focus of international and domestic media this month.

 

Prior to its official opening, the airport had already hosted a few flights. Travelers departing on flights that had moved to Suvarnabhumi earlier this month were impressed by the flashy, new building.

 

"It's impressive," said Adrian Ahlquist, a 51-year-old Australian en route to Singapore. "It's a great improvement on the old one."

 

The old, overcrowded Don Muang airport comprised three boxy, institutional terminals, totaling about four million square feet. The airport serviced about 60 flights per hour and 36.5 million passengers per year.

 

Suvarnabhumi — a name conferred by the Thai king pronounced "sue-wanna-poom," which means "Golden Land" — is 20 miles east of Bangkok in a six-million square-foot H-shaped building, with seven concourses. Thai officials claim it's the largest airport terminal building under one continuous roof.

 

They said Suvarnabhumi is capable of handling 76 flights per hour and 45 million passengers per year.

 

"It's an exaggerated statement of how far Thailand has come in terms of its development," said David Keen, a 43-year-old Briton who lives in Bangkok, after landing at Suvarnabhumi from Singapore. "It's clearly an extraordinary statement of how Thailand has moved forward and how it wants to be perceived in the rest of the world."

 

A 17-mile Airport Link under construction will include a direct, 15-minute express train to downtown Bangkok, and another train that will make eight stops throughout the city, taking 30 minutes to the airport. It is scheduled for completion in November 2007.

 

Expansive and airy, the minimalist Suvarnabhumi is constructed of steel, concrete and lots of glass that lets in natural light while keeping out the tropical heat. The oval-shaped concourse corridors are roofed by glass and white fabric panels.

 

First conceived in 1960, the high-profile project transformed a swamp where villagers once caught cobras for a living into a fertile ground for politicians and their cronies to profit from shady deals, allegedly ranging from land speculation to bribery and kickbacks from the $3.8 billion project.

 

Before construction started, government officials and businessmen with political connections bought large swaths of land and are alleged to have sold it for large profits.

 

The airport's high-tech baggage scanners — also called bomb scanners — had been the focus of a corruption scandal last year.

 

In January, a fire swept through a catering hall, killing a construction worker, on the same day that officials announced cracks were found in the main runway and that software for the bomb scanners needed some tweaking.

 

The coup was the final blow after decades of woes.

 

After taking power, the ruling military leaders said repeatedly that the airport will open on schedule. The military also assigned 800 troops to the airport for 90 days to support the transfer and help with troubleshooting at Suvarnabhumi.

 

"It was 45 years — the longest airport project in the world," Airports of Thailand chairman Srisook Chandrangsu told The Associated Press. "It was the fastest construction project — finishing in four and a half years."

Edited September 26, 2006 by Seth K

[Simon 3]

Any pictures of the airport?

[Pieter C. 5]

Thai member Levent promised to be there, so stay tuned for some pictures

[Seng Lim 0]

Update on some of the changes on MH Bangkok schedule during the the 1st 2 days of opening period:

 

MAS Inaugural Flight To Suvarnabhumi On Sept 28

September 26, 2006 19:51 PM

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will commence passenger and cargo operations at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Thursday.

A MAS statement here said that with the commencement of services from the new airport, MAS will cease its current operations at the Don Muang Airport after the departure of flight MH783 to Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday.

"To ensure smooth migration of operations to the new airport, MAS will operate only one of its three daily Kuala Lumpur/Bangkok return frequencies on Sept 28," the statement says.

The frequency will be doubled the following day, with flights MH784 and MH782 departing KL International Airport (KLIA) at 1000 hours and 1515 hours respectively.

The return flights MH785 and MH783 will depart Suvarnabhumi for KLIA at 1200 hours and 1710 hours.

Effective Sept 30, MAS will reinstate its three daily frequencies between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, it adds.

MAS advised its passengers travelling out of Suvarnabhumi for the next few weeks to report early for check-in to ensure timely completion of departure formalities.

The inaugural flight MH782 will depart to Suvarnabhumi from KLIA on Sept 28 at 1515 hours and arrive at 1620 hours while the return flight MH783 will leave the new airport at 1710 and land at KLIA at 2015 hours.

MAS will offer ticketing facilities at the new airport from 0930 to 1830 hours daily.

 

-- BERNAMA

[Radzi 2]

Looks like MAS has learn something from the opening days of KLIA and Chek Lap Kok. We'll wait and see if Suvarnabhumi will come close to those chaotic days.

[Pieter C. 5]

LH Cargo set to be first into Suvarnabhumi

 

Thursday September 28, 2006

 

Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport was set to begin full-scale international and domestic operations this morning at 3 a.m. local time.

 

First arrival was expected to be a Lufthansa Cargo flight 5 min. later inbound from Mumbai. The first scheduled departure was to be a Saudi Arabian Cargo flight to Riyadh. The first passenger flight to arrive was to be VV0171 Aerosvit Airlines from Kiev. VV0172 outbound for Kiev will make the first passenger departure.

 

Some 68 ferry flights were planned for Wednesday from Don Muang Airport, 21 of them operated by Thai Airways. Airports of Thailand said the last commercial flight to depart the old airport was Kuwait Airways KU#414 to Kuwait City. It also was set to make the last arrival, inbound from Jakarta.

 

by Kurt Hofmann/ATW.

 

Last passengerflight from Don Muang Kuwait A340.

First passengerflight from Suvarnabhumi Aerosvit Boeing 767-300.

 

 

[S V Choong 4]

For pics click here

 

http://www.atchinese.com/index.php?option=...2762&Itemid=110

 

(Chinese website)

[Pieter C. 5]

For pics click here

 

http://www.atchinese.com/index.php?option=...2762&Itemid=110

 

(Chinese website)

 

Can you translate for me ?

Anyhow, nice pictures: airport looks awesome

[Kwek 0]

The translation....with the aid of Babblefish.....plus some touch-ups.

 

After spending 300 hundred million dollars, with the construction lasting 45 year, Bangkok's new international airport Suvarnabhumi Airport opens on September 28, consigning the 92 year Bangkok Don Muang airport to history.

 

The big move was carried out on the 27th evening and the last the scheduled international flight was Kuwaiti KU414. The new airport was opened at 3 am on the 28th. The shifting to the new Bangkok airport requires the movement of some 1.8 million pieces of equipment, which must be transported within several hours. This is probably the biggest move in the world aviation history. The airport administrative bureau hopes that the new airport meets the expections of the Thai Government as well as the various international airlines and the passengers.

 

The new airport has the cross-shaped design with 6 main throughways and is the world biggest airport terminal. Completing the new airport was one of the important wishes of the Prime Minister, he once said: "This is once in a lifetime matter, one don't have a chance to build too many new airports." But after the coup d'etat, he is in exile overseas and will not be able own to see the new airport's opening.

 

The new airport is located 25 kilometres to the east of Bangkok and 5 times bigger than the old airport with the capacity to process 45 million passengers yearly. The new airport's passport inspection counter will also see large scale increases, with 1,380 Thai immigration office visas officials, with 40% more manpower. New advanced passport checkers needs only 20 seconds to be able distinguish the passenger's visa status.

 

In addition, because the new airport is equipped with two main runways, this will reduce air traffic delays and holding times. The Thai Government hopes that the new airport will surpass Singapore's Changi airport and Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur airport and make Bangkok Southeast Asia's regional transhipment center. The first scheduled flight will be the German Lufthansha airline's cargo chartered flgiht, on 28th at 3.05 am. Swiss Air flight will be the first passenger flight to arrive at the new airport arriving at 4.10 am, and will become the first international flight to use the new airport officially.

[Guest Levent]

Thai member Levent promised to be there, so stay tuned for some pictures

 

Yep, I was there today from 12.00 to 18.30. It was great! I liked it quite a lot. Sure, there are a few glitches here and there (and some missing items... see this little article I wrote for my site...)

 

"28/9: The New Bangkok International Airport, better known as Suvarnabhumi, started full-scale commercial operations today. The official transfer of air traffic, airport handling and ATC services from the old Don Muang Airport to Suvarnabhumi was at 3 am, which is the start of the least busy period of the day. Some airlines had cancelled a few scheduled flights out of precaution, to make the operational shift a bit smoother. Other than a few computer glitches and delayed bags, and some unfinished business in the passenger terminal leading to minor inconveniences for passengers, such as missing doors in toilet cubicles and non-working lifts, there was no major disruption of operations. A number of airlines, including Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways and Jetstar, started operations in and out of Suvarnabhumi in the period between 15 September and the 28th in order to test the facilities and be better prepared for the start of full-scale operations."

 

Anyway, I made tons of pictures of the terminal and aircraft. I'll have them developed tomorrow ASAP and will post some here after scanning them (yes guys, I'm still using old-fashioned film...)

 

BTW, I found some excellent locations for spotting, although I don't know how friendly the police will be after today. Today there were hundreds of people along the runway to watch planes and take pics. I hope the police will be spotter-friendly in the future too. As it's not a military field, like Don Muang, I don't see why not...

 

So stay tuned tomorrow for pictures and a full report!

 

[Isaac 0]

Nice airport. Hopefully everything will return to normal again in Thailand a.s.a.p so that i can visit BKK in the near future

[Keith T 2]

Nice airport. Hopefully everything will return to normal again in Thailand a.s.a.p so that i can visit BKK in the near future

 

Things are quite normal as they are. Friends who're there report no major disruptions to civilian life, other than the suppression of political activity which I'm sure tourists could care less about. Said friends even had a coup party.

[Pieter C. 5]

September 28, 2006

Thailand's new USD$4 billion international airport won a thumbs up from most passengers on its first day of operation on Thursday, although teething problems with the baggage handling system led to some delays.

 

"It appears there weren't enough carts to carry the luggage from the plane," said Hemant Chattopadhyay, an IT professional from Bangalore in India who had to wait 2-1/2 hours before being reunited with his bags.

 

Others complained about a lack of signs to the baggage halls, although by-and-large the massive complex, which will be able to handle 45 million passengers a year when it hits top gear, appeared to have swung into action smoothly.

"The signs weren't very clear and so we had some problems finding the baggage hall and kept on getting lost," said 19-year-old South African backpacker, Gerald Neves. "Eventually they had to let us through some secret door."

 

"Still they were all very friendly and we got an unofficial tour of the place," he said, with a shrug of the shoulders.

 

Some 200 bags got lost in the fully-automated baggage system long enough to miss their onward flights, Thai Airways officials said.

 

Delays in getting baggage to arriving passengers were blamed on the slow transfer of loading equipment across a rain-swept city from Don Muang airport, which closed in the early hours of Thursday.

 

"Now they are using a semi-manual system," said Thai Airways president Apinan Sumaneseni, referring to the scores of army cadets assisting with the luggage.

 

For Bernard Ashford, a British pensioner on a two-week package trip, it was plain sailing through an airport billed as a serious rival to Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

 

If every phase of its planned expansion comes to fruition, it will be the largest airport in Asia.

 

"No problems at all," Ashford said. "We've got everything we set out with."

 

In the cavernous steel-and-glass departure hall of Suvarnabhumi -- "Golden Land" in Thai -- check-in lines moved steadily, although some passengers were overawed by the size of the world-record 563,000 sq m (6.06 million sq ft) terminal.

 

"It's just such a big space it made me feel uneasy," said M.S. Mukti, returning to her native Bangladesh after a four day conference in Bangkok.

 

With 12 million tourists a year visiting Thailand and aspirations to being a regional trading and meeting center, successive governments in Bangkok had deemed a replacement for its ageing, single-runway Don Muang airport necessary.

 

However, it is 40 years since plans for a new airport in "Cobra Swamp", 25 km east of Bangkok, were first drawn up.

 

Delayed by a succession of military coups and the 1997 Asian financial crisis, it finally came into being under the administration of billionaire Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

Ironically, following another military coup last week, Thaksin will only be able to enjoy his pet project from his daughter's flat in London, where he is now living in virtual exile.

(Reuters)

 

[Seth K 3]

Yes, good thing everything went well. My fren is using the new airport next week, hope he will share some pix.............

Edited September 28, 2006 by Seth K

[Raj 0]

Very Nice Airport indeed..A very Unique and Different Design..Thumbs up to those that build the Airport..

Edited September 28, 2006 by Raj

[Guest Levent]

Suvarnabhumi Airport – September 28th, 2006

 

The 28th of September was the long awaited start of full-scale commercial operations at Suvarnabhumi Airport. We decided to visit the airport that day to check out its facilities and look at the possibilities for spotting. Well, maybe I should say semi-full-scale ops, as some airlines had decided to cancel a few flights to make the transition a bit smoother.

 

The new airport is only a one-hour drive from our home, compared to one and a half hours to Don Muang. We don’t have to enter Bangkok’s crowded urban area anymore, it costs less fuel and also half the toll to get there. So in our case the airport brings many advantages.

 

We took the exit to the airport from the Bangkok-Chonburi nr 7 motorway. There’s plenty of room here, with a four-lane road leading towards the passenger terminal. There are exits to the public transportation centre (where all public buses arrive), long term parking, catering companies, cargo facilities and the Novotel airport hotel. We entered the first car park building without having to take a ticket, and found a good spot near the passenger bridge to the terminal. Parking at Don Muang was always a nightmare, with its overcrowded, dark car park with low ceilings. The car park at Suvarnabhumi is roomy and light, although the water drainage system didn’t seem to work too well. Large surfaces were covered with water from the previous night’s torrential rains.

 

The elevators at the car park building weren’t functioning yet, which would cause a lot of inconvenience for people travelling with suitcases today. We then walked over the metal pedestrian bridge into the terminal building, entering at the level between arrivals and departures. The third floor of the passenger terminal is supposed to be the restaurants level, although there wasn’t too much to choose from. There are two coffee shops, a Thai restaurant and a Japanese restaurant. A mini mart is about to open and there are works in progress for another facility, although there were no sings saying what it would be. No place offering Western food (yet). The terminal plan says that there are two Burger Kings on the airside, although I couldn’t verify this.

 

We then went one level up to departures to have a look around there. It is basically one huge hall with a very high ceiling. Lots of glass and metal; in other words, very modern. Again a big improvement compared to Don Muang, But then again, that’s the whole idea of having a new airport, isn’t it? Especially since Airports of Thailand is hoping to compete with Singapore Changi and Kuala Lumpur International Airport now.

 

It is clear that the authorities were poised on opening the airport for full-scale ops on this day, as it is not completely ready yet. Some are minor things, such as missing doors in the men’s room cubicles (although this might be a major issue at times…) A more serious problem today was an issue with the computer software, which led to some delays with the delivery of bags in the arrivals hall and also some bags (about 200 I believe) missing their flights. Then again, everyone expected some issues on a day like this, and most people were probably prepared for it.

 

Next was the observation deck on the seventh floor which, although it is nice the airport authorities provided it, is quite small and does not offer excellent views. The modern construction of this airport means that there are metal pipes and ducts running all over the place, which obstruct the view onto the tarmac and make photography difficult. Some good shots can still be made, however, and more so from the coffee shop one level lower. From there it is easier to take pictures through the huge windows without any obstructions. The view from here is of the central apron between the western and eastern concourses, facing south. All aircraft taxiing from one side to the other pass in front, and you’ll be able to take full-frame pictures of an A340, for example, with a 300mm lens. I think actually that the observation deck has not been made yet, as I could see some preparative work on top of the pylons at the coffee shop. It looks like they will place a slab over the coffee shop in the future. For now, the viewing area is just part of a small VIP room which was not being used yet (and was very, very hot…)

 

After a brief visit to the less attractive arrivals hall, we went back to the car to have a drive around the airport. Upon leaving the car park building, some people were handing in tickets and had to pay accordingly. Probably they had been handing out hand-written tickets in the morning and stopped issuing them when they ran out of them… We, however, didn’t have to pay anything. The ticket issuing machines weren’t working yet.

 

We then drove westwards, following the signs for Rom Klao Road. There were many cars parked near the mail sorting centre, right next to the Runway 19R threshold which was being used for landings, and we joined in. There was police all over the place to keep an eye on the people there, but they let us watch the planes and take pictures. I got some great final approach shots here. This location also offers a good overview of the cargo apron, where I saw two Saudi Arabian MD-11’s, a Martinair 747-200, a FedEx A310 and a China Airlines Cargo 747-400F.

After about one hour the road was getting too crowded with parked vehicles and the police started to send people away.

 

After this we drove down Rom Klao Road, which runs south along the western end of the airport, although it is too built up here to see anything. We then turned left to pass underneath the airport perimeter, and left again to drive along Runway 01R/19L. This road follows the perimeter fence and offers excellent viewing opportunities. The fence is not too high, so if you park in the grass along the road it won’t bother you too much while taking pictures. Again, there were many, many cars parked here and hundreds of people watching the take-offs. Whether this will be allowed in the future I don’t know, but I do hope so! From this location I was able to take some good shots of aircraft taking off, some of which with the terminal and control tower on the background. We stayed at this location till sunset.

 

All in all, a great and successful day at the new airport! I will be adding some pictures here as soon as I have scanned them and uploaded them to my own site.

 

 

[Chaity 1]

Thanks Levent for the detailed reports. Can't wait for some photos

[Guest Levent]

Well guys,

 

Thanks for your patience... Here are my first pics of Suvarnabhumi. A few of the terminal in this post, and some more of aircraft in a next one.

 

Suvarnabhumi's control tower stands at 132 metres, and is the tallest in the world (for now...)

 

 

The terminal building as seen from the car park building

 

 

The passenger bridge linking the car park building with the terminal

 

 

You get an idea of the sheer size of this building in this picture

 

 

The impressive glass facade of the passenger terminal building

 

 

The huge departures hall with 20 rows of check-in desks

 

 

This is what I mean by obstructions at the viewing gallery. Still you can get some good shots, as you'll see in some other photos later on...

 

 

Workers taking a nap and watching the aircraft on top of one of the concourses

 

 

 

 

[Rozhan 0]

Very nice pictures and first hand accounts. By the way I like the name of the airport. Interesting that Suvarnabhumi... the 'bhumi' part sounds very much like bumi to also mean land in the Malay language.

[Pieter C. 5]

Excellent and very detailed report on NBK, Levent, looking forward to some (more) aircraft pictures before I'll ask "mana KLM"

 

This is what ATW had to write about the opening:

 

"Friday September 29, 2006

New Bangkok Airport opened Thursday morning with a couple of hitches temporarily interrupting service. Passengers arriving on the first few flights to Suvarnabhumi were forced to wait more than an hour for their luggage as ground crews struggled to move bags from planes to conveyer belts owing to a delay in the transfer of ground equipment from the old Don Muang Airport to NBK. Another problem was the crash of Thai Airways' computer system, with airline staff issuing boarding passes and luggage tags by hand.

 

Most flights landed and took off on time. "Some had 15 to 20 minutes delays, but all planes left NBK with the baggage of their passengers," Munich Airport COO Peter Trautmann told ATWOnline in Bangkok. Munich Airport coordinated the airport transfer for Airports of Thailand and started planning for the relocation in August 2004.

 

During the relocation process Wednesday night, 1,660 lorries and heavy airport vehicles moved via the streets of Bangkok to the new airport without big problems.

 

by Kurt Hofmann"

 

For your information:

 

The last KLM 747-400 operating into/out of Don-Muang was PH-BFM (KLM asia) on 27sep2006.

The first KLM 747-400 operating into/out of Suvarnabhumi was PH-BFP (KLM asia) on 28sep2006 with only 7 mins delay to TPE and 13 mins delay to AMS later in the evening

[Seth K 3]

Wow Levent, excellent photography around NBK.

The path to the entry door is just simply amazing, the large scale of the window..................a true modern architecture

Already impressed me, KLIA may drop again this year!!!!!!!!!!! <_>

[Kevin Teh 0]

nice, beautiful modern airport. Thanks for the coverage, Levent

[Guest Levent]

Hi guys,

 

As promised, here are some aircraft pics taken at and around Suvarnabhumi:

 

SriLankan Airways A330 4R-ALA at the gate, taken from the coffeeshop on the sixth floor

 

 

Thai A330 HS-TEH and 747-400 HS-TGG on the ramp, taken from the viewing gallery

 

 

A classic 747 in the colours of One-Two-Go, HS-UTD. Taken at the mail sorting centre

 

 

The cargo apron, with a Martinair 747, Saudi Arabian MD-11 and FedEx A310, among others

 

 

One of my favourites: Thai A330 HS-TEH taking off from Rwy 19L

 

 

The Royal Barge taking off from Rwy 19L

 

 

I have more if you like them!

[Pieter C. 5]

Great shots, Levent:

 

The One-Two-Go reminds me of our photo-session from the bridge close to Don Muang - almost same angle.

These photo positions/spots look promising for future visit(s)

 

Thanks for sharing these 'airport opening' shots

 

YES, more please !!!

[Keith T 2]

Apparently it's a bit of a mess for those who've experienced flying through the new airport:

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=606732

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=607010

 

Brace urself for lots of walking. Or running if you're late for a flight...