Bangkok airport officially unsafe

[Naim 6]

Declared unsafe by authorities, but still operational. How?

 

Bangkok airport officially unsafe

POSTED: 0757 GMT (1557 HKT), January 27, 2007

 

An airliner moves past a damaged section of a taxiway at Suvarnabhumi Airport on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thursday.

 

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Aviation authorities have refused to extend an

international safety certificate for Bangkok's new international airport, a

senior official said Saturday, dealing another blow to the problem-plagued

facility.

 

With runway and tarmac repairs at Suvarnabhumi airport still under way, the

Department of Civil Aviation decided Friday not to renew its interim safety

certificate, which expired a day earlier. The airport can, however, continue

to operate without the license.

 

CONTINUE READING at http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/01/27/t...t.ap/index.html

 

A Thai Airways jet moves past a damaged section of taxiway at Suvarnabhumi Airport on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, in this Jan.

Edited January 27, 2007 by Naim

[Edwin Lau 0]

I think the contractor who build teh airport ought to be sued

[Tamizi Hj Tamby 1]

Officially unsafe?

 

Wonder what will happen to Suvarnabhumi....

[Fairuz 0]

built not acording to specification..to many corruption i guess...

even from the tarmac can see just sub-standard material...

Edited January 28, 2007 by Fairuz

[Azuddin 1]

first the ghost, now the tarmac. this new airport got many sitch.

[Lawrence L 0]

Operating without license...???!!!! What on earth has happened to this world ...

[Sherman 0]

first the ghost, now the tarmac. this new airport got many sitch.

 

ghost?

[Brennan Raj 0]

first the ghost, now the tarmac. this new airport got many sitch.

 

GHOST?

Edited January 28, 2007 by Brennan Raj

[Keith T 2]

Operating without license...???!!!! What on earth has happened to this world ...

 

If you've read the entire CNN article, you'll note that the requirement to operate with a licence is an ICAO protocol. Individual countries must then choose to incorporate the protocol into their own national legislations by passing a law to that effect. Thailand has to date not incorporated this ICAO requirement as part of Thai law. Meaning whether or not an airport in Thailand is licensed by the country's aviation authorities, it will be allowed to operate. So unfortunately, Suvarnabhumi is allowed to operate on that technicality.

Edited January 28, 2007 by Keith T

[Naim 6]

Follow-up ...

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/28...es_30025296.php

 

SUVARNABHUMI - Rescue plan for airport

Expert warned 15 years ago building on a swamp was trouble

 

Sun 28 Jan 2007

 

A top architect has suggested ways to save the Bt150-billion Suvarnabhumi

Airport.

 

Dr Sumet Jumsai said the increasingly serious runway cracks had to be

resolved.

 

"We have to make Suvarnabhumi work because it is already there.

 

"For the runways, repairs to the cracks must continue, but Airports of

Thailand should sheet-pile both sides of the runways along their entire

length.

 

"This should lessen the subsoil shift and reduce cracks on the apron's

surface," he said.

 

"In the long run it may be necessary to pile all the aprons. The new runway

east of the existing polder [a polder is a dyked area], slated for

expansion, might be built sooner rather than later.

 

"In this respect the polder must not be expanded, and the new runway must

not be land-filled. Instead the runway should be built above flood level on

piers in order to allow flood water to pass under it," Sumet said.

 

"In this way it will not impede water flow or further reduce the

flood-retention capacity of Nong Ngu Hao swamp [on which the airport is

built]."

 

"There is nothing new in this. You can draw a lesson from the traditional

Thai house on stilts standing comfortably in watery terrain. Traditional

Thai architecture is amphibious and in harmony with nature."

 

Sumet, who opposed building the airport on the site because of unfavourable

subsoil conditions, suggested air traffic at the four-month-old Suvarnabhumi

Airport should then shift to the newly piled runway to allow the existing

aprons to be piled.

 

Alternatively, the old Don Muang airport north of Bangkok could be

recommissioned to accept flights while repairs are carried out.

 

Sumet said his measures would not resolve flooding outside the polder, since

the water-retention capacity of the swamp had been severely compromised by

the airport.

 

Sumet, one of Thailand's top architects, with many buildings in Bangkok, the

provinces and neighbouring countries, recalled how 15 years ago he had

fought against the location of an airport at Nong Ngu Hao on the grounds it

went against nature.

 

"Nature is now taking its toll in this swamp, and I feel everyone has got it

wrong in the ongoing investigation. The bottom line is that with or without

corruption - and every government in the design and construction phases is

implicated - the runways and any structure not on piles will be subject to

differential settlement and cracks," he said.

 

"All you have to do is to look at the Bang Na-Trat Highway. After so many

years and multiple layers of compressed sub-base, the road still sinks," he

said.

____

[Andrew Ong 1]

first the ghost, now the tarmac. this new airport got many sitch.

 

Ghost? Suvarnabhumi has a ghost?

[Seng Lim 0]

Those who are interested in the 'Haunted BKK airport' pls refer to the link below and we shall move on with the safety issues which is the title of this post.

http://www.malaysianwings.com/forum/index....c=3535&st=0

[Naim 6]

Those who are interested in the 'Haunted BKK airport' pls refer to the link below and we shall move on with the safety issues which is the title of this post.

http://www.malaysianwings.com/forum/index....c=3535&st=0

 

Yup, let's focus on the tangible safety issues - the airport was a corruption-ridden rush-job on a swamp, with or without ghosts. But I find it fascinating that ppl are so obsessed with 'ghosts'?

 

+++

[Kee Hooi Yen 0]

To pile the runway and apron must be a very expensive remedial work. And the taxiways must be piled as well or else in few years time runway and apron is at 'Level 2' while taxiway is at 'Level 1' (due to the differential settlement)

 

[Naim 6]

Real mess this has turned out to be.

 

Latest developments ...

 

Thailand: Flawed new airport needs €35m

29/01/2007 - 4:02:49 PM

 

The taxiways are cracked, the terminal has leaks and some airlines even wonder whether it is safe to fly into Thailand’s new international airport.

 

Bangkok’s sleek and modern Suvarnabhumi Airport, which opened to great fanfare in September, was supposed to transform the Thai capital into south-east Asia’s leading air hub. To say it has had a rocky start would be an understatement.

...

 

CONTINUE READING at http://www.sbpost.ie/breakingnews/breaking...=4433342&x=

 

Thousands face delays as Bangkok's new airport cracks up

 

The Australian

January 30, 2007

 

BANGKOK: Australians and hundreds of thousands of other foreign visitors to Thailand will face serious inconvenience with the expected closure of parts of Bangkok's new airport.

A government committee was due to decide yesterday on the fate of the country's troubled Suvarnabhumi airport, where cracks have opened up in runways and taxiways.

 

The airport was opened four months ago amid a huge fanfare and at a cost of about $7 billion.

 

The committee, led by Thailand's Transport Minister, is widely expected to order the closure of some parts of the new international airport and to move all domestic flights back to the old airport at Don Muang.

...

 

CONTINUE READING at http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...16-2703,00.html

 

Thai govt wants to reopen old Bangkok airport

Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:12 PM IST

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Bangkok's decommissioned Don Muang airport will be re-opened for domestic flights to ease congestion at its new $4 billion Suvarnabhumi airport, which has cracked runways, the transport minister said on Monday.

 

After a meeting with airport officials, Theera Haocharoen told reporters airlines would only move on a voluntary basis, and nothing would happen within two months of cabinet giving the green light -- something it is expected to do next Tuesday.

...

 

CONTINUE READING at http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArtic...;archived=False

 

 

[Pieter C. 5]

Thai Govt Wants To Reopen Old Bangkok Airport

 

January 30, 2007

Bangkok's decommissioned Don Muang airport will be re-opened for domestic flights to ease congestion at its new USD$4 billion Suvarnabhumi airport, which has cracked runways, the transport minister said on Monday.

 

After a meeting with airport officials, Theera Haocharoen told reporters airlines would only move on a voluntary basis, and nothing would happen within two months of cabinet giving the green light -- something it is expected to do next Tuesday.

 

"The decision to move back to Don Muang was based on a series of problems that have plagued Suvarnabhumi, from cracks on the taxiways to out-of-order aerobridges. I can't tell you now when all the repairs will be done," Theera said.

 

The operator of Suvaranabhumi, which means "Golden Land" in Thai, said last week there were around 100 cracks in its taxiways and runways which were likely to disrupt air traffic for several weeks as damaged sections are fixed.

 

The east runway of the airport, which has only been open four months, was closed for four hours on Saturday for repairs, causing 40 incoming and outgoing flights to switch to the other runway.

 

The army-appointed cabinet has ordered a panel of experts to assess the extent of the problem at the airport, which is designed to handle 45 million passengers a year and which Thailand hopes will ultimately rival Hong Kong and Singapore.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Pieter C. 5]

Yeah, yeah, congestion, huh ?

 

Congestion Prompted Plan To Reopen Bangkok Airport

 

January 31, 2007

It was the congestion at Bangkok's USD$4 billion new airport -- and not the safety fears raised by cracks in its runways -- that prompted a plan to reopen Don Muang Airport, industry experts said.

 

Both runways at Suvarnabhumi, which has only been open four months, have undergone partial, temporary closure in the last week for repair work, delaying incoming flights and forcing at least two to divert to a nearby military airstrip.

 

Airline representatives said inspections had confirmed the runway cracks were "superficial" and there was no risk to passengers or flights at Suvarnabhumi, which is designed to handle 45 million passengers each year.

 

However, taxi-way repairs were causing back-logs, notably in the peak 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. period, when the airport handles 67 flights an hour against a capacity of 71, said Brian Sinclair-Thompson of the Board of Airline Representatives Association.

 

"The problem is not a safety issue. It's more an inconvenience to airlines and passengers," he said.

 

To ease the pressure, Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen, part of a cabinet installed after a September 19 coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has suggested the decommissioned Don Muang Airport be reopened for domestic flights.

 

Many budget carriers are applauding the decision as a victory for common sense and say the fears of flight mix-ups that caused airport planners initially to force every carrier into Suvarnabhumi were overblown.

 

"It's not unusual for major cities to have more than one airport," said Udom Tantiprasongchai, chief executive of Orient Thai Airlines, which also operates a domestic airline called One-Two-Go.

 

Udom said 70 percent of One-Two-Go's domestic flights would use Don Muang and 30 percent Suvarnabhumi. Orient Thai's mainly regional service would use Suvarnabhumi, he said.

 

It remains to be seen whether moving a few budget airlines from Suvarnabhumi will ease the pressure at its busiest times.

 

"Suvarnabhumi is already at peak capacity. I don't know how this is going to bring the relief because the relief is needed at the peak hours," Sinclair-Thompson said.

 

A pet project of Thaksin, Suvarnabhumi has been plagued by scandals, including allegations of graft in the purchase of bomb-scanning kit and awarding of taxi and parking concessions which tarnished its reputation even before it opened.

 

Thailand hopes it will eventually be able to rival Hong Kong and Singapore as a major regional air hub. If all its planned expansion phases go ahead, it will become the largest airport in Asia, with an annual capacity of 100 million passengers.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Pieter C. 5]

Thailand's Dept. of Civil Aviation postponed renewal of Suvarnabhumi International Airport's safety certification, which expired last week and originally was issued to comply with ICAO efforts to standardize international airport documentation. No Thai airport is currently certificated by DCA. Although lack of certification has no impact on operations at the new Bangkok airport, Thai politicians are trumpeting it in their campaign to discredit the deposed Thaksin government, which built the facility. Several terminal gates at a time are being closed because of repairs to pavement cracks, creating some airborne holds and forcing a few flights to divert to U Tapao--a former US Air Force base now used for charter and cargo operations--to add fuel before returning to BKK.

 

Bangkok Airways and Thai AirAsia have asked that domestic flights be moved back to Don Muang, Bangkok's old international airport, until repairs are completed. A number of other carriers want to use Don Muang, now restricted to GA, charter and maintenance operations, for nonconnecting short-haul trips. Airports of Thailand staff has recommended reopening the airport to scheduled flights.

 

The Bangkok press, eager to side with the government in power, rarely misses an opportunity to criticize Suvarnabhumi. One popular English-language paper quoted an "expert" who said the runways should be rebuilt on piles so floodwaters can flow underneath. Another paper front-paged a story about a leak from a terminal toilet pipe that caused minor damage to a few pieces of baggage on the floor below.

 

 

[Y. J. Foo 0]

Another paper front-paged a story about a leak from a terminal toilet pipe that caused minor damage to a few pieces of baggage on the floor below.

 

Ugh...I'd hate to be the one who takes back the luggage only to discover that it smells like s**t... =@

[Seng Lim 0]

Some update from Channelnewsasia:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp.../256287/1/.html

 

Bangkok airport chief quits amid turbulence

02 February 2007 1913 hrs

 

BANGKOK : The former head of the company that operates Bangkok's troubled new airport quit with a parting shot at authorities Friday, saying the hub was opened too early last year despite his warnings.

 

"At that time, I thought Suvarnabhumi was not ready to open," Chotisak Asapaviriya told Channel 11 television in an interview after handing in his resignation to the 14-member board of Airports of Thailand.

 

Separately, the head of the board raised a new concern, criticising "loose" security which he said was insufficient to cope with the threat of terrorism.

 

The board, appointed by Thailand's junta following a September coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, accepted Chotisak's resignation and, in a related move, sacked the airport's manager late Thursday.

 

The glitzy three-billion-dollar Suvarnabhumi, named "Golden Land" in Thai, was one of Thaksin's pet projects meant to become a gleaming symbol of modern Thailand.

 

Instead it has been mired by problems since opening last September, including 100 cracks on runways and taxiways, corruption claims, inadequate toilets and complaints about hygiene standards.

 

Chotisak said he had urged the Thaksin government not to rush into opening the airport and told aviation authorities that they should gradually shift operations to Suvarnabhumi from Bangkok's old Don Muang airport.

 

"I asked them to partially move operations to the new airport as I suspected the total opening at one time could cause many problems," he said.

 

He insisted there was no pressure from the head of the AOT board, General Saprang Kalayanamitr, adding that he had decided to step down due to health reason.

 

"I resigned because the stress coming from managing Suvarnabhmi would have serious effects on my health in the future," said Chotisak, 53.

 

His resignation came amid growing difficulties at the airport, which were compounded when Thailand's aviation authority last month declined to renew an international safety certificate for Suvarnabhumi.

 

The certificate is not required by law for the airport to operate, meaning it can stay open while the problems are sorted out.

 

An engineering team that surveyed the cracks on the tarmac said they cover some 97,000 square meters (one million square feet), or 5.3 percent, of the airport's total taxiways.

 

"Given the fact that the airport has been open for just four months, the cracks already found were considered a serious problem," Thiti Paveenchana, a director of the Engineering Council of Thailand, said Friday.

 

"We recommended that authorities immediately close the cracked areas for urgent repairs. The process could take up to three to six months," he told AFP.

 

Thailand's cabinet is expected to decide Tuesday whether to ask airlines to voluntarily make a temporary move of some domestic flights to Don Muang to ease traffic at Suvarnabhumi and allow the runway cracks to be repaired.

 

Meanwhile, AOT board chief Saprang - also a member of Thailand's junta - said a 10-year contract with the Thai conglomerate Loxley to manage security may come under review.

 

"Security at Suvarnabhumi is loose. The system now managed by Loxley is not professional," he said on Thai television Friday.

 

"Security at the new airport is currently not sufficient to cope with the threat of terrorism," he said.

 

The airport's newly appointed general manager, Serirat Prasutanont, vowed Friday to improve security at Suvarnabhumi.

 

"We have to admit that the public now has strong concerns about safety and security at Suvarnabhumi, including the cracks in runways," said Serirat.

 

"It is the role of the new management and my top priority to improve both of them to improve Suvarnabhumi's image," he told AFP.

 

The junta has laid much of the blame for the airport's problems on Thaksin, who pushed for the airport to open last year despite warnings from airlines that it was not ready.

 

But the airport has been in the works for more than 40 years, and claims of graft have repeatedly marred its development.

 

Experts have warned for years that the site of the airport - on a drained marsh once known as "Cobra Swamp" - could cause problems for the runways.

[Seng Lim 0]

It's Official:

 

Thailand to reopen old airport, giving Bangkok two hubs

06 February 2007 1545 hrs

 

BANGKOK: Thailand's government announced on Tuesday that it will reopen Bangkok's shuttered Don Muang airport, after a series of problems emerged at its sparkling new air hub.

"The cabinet has decided to maintain two international airports for our country because there have been many setbacks at Suvarnabhumi Airport and we need to prepare to handle more passengers in the future," Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told reporters.

"Therefore it's necessary to have Don Muang as a second international airport," he said.

Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen said the decades-old Don Muang would be ready to resume commercial operations within 45 days.

"Don Muang will permanently re-open and we are now considering which airlines are to move back to Don Muang," Thira told reporters.

The decision took Thailand's aviation authorities by surprise.

The airport issue had not been on the cabinet's agenda for Tuesday and the transport minister had previously recommended only moving some domestic flights to Don Muang on a temporary basis to allow for repairs at Suvarnabhumi.

Don Muang has been closed since the gleaming Suvarnabhumi Airport opened in September to great fanfare, when it was trumpeted as a symbol of modern Thailand and its plans to become the region's premier travel hub.

Instead, the airport has become mired in problems ranging from cracks in the taxiways and runways, to allegations of graft and complaints about sanitation.

Highlighting the problems, Thailand's aviation authority last month declined to renew an international safety certificate for Suvarnabhumi.

The certificate is not required by law for the airport to operate, meaning it can stay open while the problems are sorted out.

Re-opening the old airport will postpone the need to expand Suvarnabhumi, which opened with a capacity of 45 million passengers a year.

Airline officials say that traffic has rapidly risen toward that point and the government had already planned a new terminal for low-cost carriers at Suvarnabhumi, which was designed to eventually grow to handle 100 million passengers a year.

Kulya Pakakrong, acting president of Airports of Thailand – which operates Suvarnabhumi – voiced surprise at the decision and warned that expansion would still be needed at Suvarnabhumi.

"Both Aviation Department and Airports of Thailand were surprised by the urgent, unexpected decision made by the cabinet," Kulya told AOT.

She had previously said that operating two airports would only temporarily solve the problems at the new airport.

Critics have also voiced concern about splitting air traffic between the two for fear the move would create confusion among travellers and that people trying to make connections could become snarled up in Bangkok's notorious traffic.

But Thailand's civil aviation chief Chaisak Angkasuwan said many big cities have more than one airport and Bangkok should be no different.

"In Tokyo or France, they operate more than one international airport in a big city so I don't see any obstacle for Thailand to do the same thing," Chaisak told AFP.

 

Link : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp.../256905/1/.html

[Edwin Yii 0]

"In Tokyo or France, they operate more than one international airport in a big city so I don't see any obstacle for Thailand to do the same thing," Chaisak told AFP.

 

but tats because they're busy and not cause cracked taxiways ..