Flights At Suvarnabhumi Airport Delayed As Repairs Of Cracks Continue

[zxray]

Being on one of the flights from Singapore yesterday, that was diverted to Chon Buri. We were told that we were being diverted, but not why. We sat on the plane for over an hour, with the door open for air, at some point they informed us that a runway at Suvarnbhumi had beeen closed.

When we did finaly reach Suvarnbhumi, the pilot rushed off the runway, and manuvered the plane at a high rate of speed. It cannot be safe to have the pilots rushing, while on the ground. An accident waiting to happen there!

The plane stopped in a unlighted area, where we boarded buses for a ride to the terminal. The bus driver, only made one wrong turn, but was able to make a u-turn, and find the terminal, on the second attempt......................... er I believe that it is the large structure, with all the lights!

As the extra take off and landing, cannot be cost effective. I believe that the obvious solution, is to land international flights at Chon Buri, and bus the passengers to Suvarnbhumi, for immigration, baggage claim, and customs................I probably, should not give them ideas!

Ray

[Richard W]

The silent consonant is more common, and to make it easier, it's marked with a special character, a "kallan". With vowels, it gets more complicated, since they have to stand together with a consonant, and in this case, the consonant "m" isn't silent, so no "kallan".

The final vowels that may be silent are short /a/, /i/ and /u/, the latter as in the first half of Phanthip as in Phanthip Plaza. Final short /a/ is very often silent, but as it is only written in the graphic transliteration of Thai, most people don't realise it's there. The most prominent example is 'Rama', as in Rama IV Road (Thanon Phra Ram Thi Si). The final 'a' of Rama is neither written nor sounded in Thai. And you probably thought the ins and outs of cricket were complicated.

[khunopie]

"Thai Airways International said that there were two THAI flights from Singapore and Hong Kong that had to circling at the airport to wait for their turns to land had to fly and land at U-Tapao Airport in Chon Buri as they were running out of gas. They then flew to the new airport to land."

Love that grammar! Looks like the Nation could use a proof reader!

[isaanbrit]

Why don't they just close the place and move all the flights back to good old Don Muang, and then do a proper repair of all the faults.

I don't think it's quite that easy mate :-P

[Mobi]

Funny enough, Thais call it Suvarnabhum. Only foreigners add an i to it.

Actually, the Thais call it Suwannapoom, which is how it's spelled in Thai. The "i" is actually there in the Thai spelling, but shouldn't be pronounced.

Thanks for detailing. I thought only consonants are written but not spelled at the end of words in Thai. One never stops learning...

The silent consonant is more common, and to make it easier, it's marked with a special character, a "kallan". With vowels, it gets more complicated, since they have to stand together with a consonant, and in this case, the consonant "m" isn't silent, so no "kallan". As far as I know, the phenomenon only appears in a relatively small quantity of names. Still, it gets confusing when they assume that foreigners understand that the vowel is silent, even when it's there in the English translation.

Slightly off topic, but it amuses me that this wonderful new airport - destined to be the new Hub for Asia - to be used by millions of people around the world - is given a name that can only be prounced properly by Thais and Thai speaking farangs. Everyone else is confused and bewildered by the English transliteration and pronounces it incorrectly.

Deliberate?

Possibly, but if not, you would have thought that someone soemwhere would have said :"Hey! lets have a catchy name that the whole world can say and remember." (Or at the very least, let's spell like it is spoken )

Oh... I was forgetting ...TIT

[Mobi]

My prediction:

Within the next 3 months there will be a number of serious 'incidents' relating to these cracked runways, even possibly a major accident.

The airport will be closed indefinitely for repairs and everything will be moved back to Don Muang, with some scheduled flights using U-Tapau and then bussing passengers back to Bangkok.

Suvarnabhumi will not re-open until mid 2008.

Mobi

[Jaonghais]

what ya all worried about??...wont be a problem as you read above.

with modern rapid set concrete it only takes 2 hours to fill a crack.

Just like putting cling wrap on a broken window

[bdenner]

Some of you West Aussies may remember the subsidance problems Woodside had with their 'North Rankin A' Offshore platform. They carried out the "Epo Sand Project".

They pumped 1000's of tonnes of sand mixed with an epoxic resin under the jacket legs. - all is still OK some 20 years later.

Now I'm not a civil engineer but I'm sure these people are going to have to come up with some sort of similar fix in the long term.

[Jai Dee]

TG aircraft forced to land on Utapao to fill up gas tank

The Thai Airways company indicates that 2 of its planes were forced to land at U-Tapao airbase for refueling due to aviation congestion at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The Managing Director of the Thai Airways company board, Flight Officer Apinan SumanaSeranee (อภินันทน์ สุมนะเศรณี ), revealed that 2 Thai Airway flights, TG 414 from Singapore to Bangkok and TG 621 from Osaka to Manila to Bangkok were forced to land at U-Tapao airbase due to a runway closure at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The closure came after repairs were initiated to reduce the runway\'s length. Aviation congestion from a large number of aircraft therefore caused many planes to miss their landing timetable.

Flight Office Apinan said that fuel constraints eventually caused the 2 aircraft to request the Suvarnabhumi Air Traffic Control for a refuelling stop at U-Tapao airbase. The flights are reported to have returned to overhead flight patterns over Suvarbhumi Airport and have since landed safely.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 26 January 2007

[dominique355]

hmmm ... FOD (Foreign Object Debris) ... what was the cause of the Concorde's crash in Paris again? Oh, yeah, a foreign object on the runway damaged the plain.

Maybe, we have to wait until something like this happens here in Bangkok until the people in charge admit the problem and fix it for good.

I sure hope not, but then again, this is Thailand

[Jai Dee]

AOT establishes specialist team to investigate cause of Suvarnabhumi runway fractures

An Airport of Thailand (AOT) investigative committee have appointed specialists to determine the cause of runway fractures at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The director of the Airport of Thailand company, Mr. Thowthrakul Yhomnak (ต่อตระกูล ยมนาค), in his capacity as chairman of the investigative committee on the cause of taxi-way and runway fractures at Suvarnabhumi Airport, said that Transport Minister Theera Howcharoen (ธีระ ห้าวเจริญ) had conducted inspections at the airport and located more than 100 fracture points. The Minister of Transport expressed his concern over the impact of the fractures on aviation services and safety.

Mr. Thowthrakul is therefore urging the AOT investigative committee to establish an impartial commission staffed by specialists in the field, in order to analyze the cause of runway fractures. 6 specialists have so far been appointed to the investigative team, and the AOT expects a report within 2 weeks.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 26 January 2007

[bdenner]

AOT establishes specialist team to investigate cause of Suvarnabhumi runway fractures

---------Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 26 January 2007

CAUSE!! – Even a dumb ass like my self can give them the cause:-

Built on a swamp.

Poor engineering

Shotty workmanship

Sub standard materials

CORRUPTION etc. etc. etc.

<deleted>#k the cause and get on with the fix.

[SwaziBird]

Funny enough, Thais call it Suvarnabhum. Only foreigners add an i to it.

Actually, the Thais call it Suwannapoom, which is how it's spelled in Thai. The "i" is actually there in the Thai spelling, but shouldn't be pronounced.

Thanks for detailing. I thought only consonants are written but not spelled at the end of words in Thai. One never stops learning...

The silent consonant is more common, and to make it easier, it's marked with a special character, a "kallan". With vowels, it gets more complicated, since they have to stand together with a consonant, and in this case, the consonant "m" isn't silent, so no "kallan". As far as I know, the phenomenon only appears in a relatively small quantity of names. Still, it gets confusing when they assume that foreigners understand that the vowel is silent, even when it's there in the English translation.

Slightly off topic, but it amuses me that this wonderful new airport - destined to be the new Hub for Asia - to be used by millions of people around the world - is given a name that can only be prounced properly by Thais and Thai speaking farangs. Everyone else is confused and bewildered by the English transliteration and pronounces it incorrectly.

Deliberate?

Possibly, but if not, you would have thought that someone soemwhere would have said :"Hey! lets have a catchy name that the whole world can say and remember." (Or at the very least, let's spell like it is spoken )

Oh... I was forgetting ...TIT

Will some kind person please tell me what TIT stands for . I do know about the anatomical appendage !

Thanks. Cheers

[SwaziBird]

Funny enough, Thais call it Suvarnabhum. Only foreigners add an i to it.

Actually, the Thais call it Suwannapoom, which is how it's spelled in Thai. The "i" is actually there in the Thai spelling, but shouldn't be pronounced.

Thanks for detailing. I thought only consonants are written but not spelled at the end of words in Thai. One never stops learning...

The silent consonant is more common, and to make it easier, it's marked with a special character, a "kallan". With vowels, it gets more complicated, since they have to stand together with a consonant, and in this case, the consonant "m" isn't silent, so no "kallan". As far as I know, the phenomenon only appears in a relatively small quantity of names. Still, it gets confusing when they assume that foreigners understand that the vowel is silent, even when it's there in the English translation.

Slightly off topic, but it amuses me that this wonderful new airport - destined to be the new Hub for Asia - to be used by millions of people around the world - is given a name that can only be prounced properly by Thais and Thai speaking farangs. Everyone else is confused and bewildered by the English transliteration and pronounces it incorrectly.

Deliberate?

Possibly, but if not, you would have thought that someone soemwhere would have said :"Hey! lets have a catchy name that the whole world can say and remember." (Or at the very least, let's spell like it is spoken )

Oh... I was forgetting ...TIT

Will some kind person please tell me what TIT stands for . I do know about the anatomical appendage !

Thanks. Cheers

Sorry for editing the above post. Meant to ask "will some kind person please tell me the meaning of the abbreviation , TIT. I do know about the anatomical version .

[Blake7]

Funny enough, Thais call it Suvarnabhum. Only foreigners add an i to it.

Actually, the Thais call it Suwannapoom, which is how it's spelled in Thai. The "i" is actually there in the Thai spelling, but shouldn't be pronounced.

Thanks for detailing. I thought only consonants are written but not spelled at the end of words in Thai. One never stops learning...

The silent consonant is more common, and to make it easier, it's marked with a special character, a "kallan". With vowels, it gets more complicated, since they have to stand together with a consonant, and in this case, the consonant "m" isn't silent, so no "kallan". As far as I know, the phenomenon only appears in a relatively small quantity of names. Still, it gets confusing when they assume that foreigners understand that the vowel is silent, even when it's there in the English translation.

Slightly off topic, but it amuses me that this wonderful new airport - destined to be the new Hub for Asia - to be used by millions of people around the world - is given a name that can only be prounced properly by Thais and Thai speaking farangs. Everyone else is confused and bewildered by the English transliteration and pronounces it incorrectly.

Deliberate?

Possibly, but if not, you would have thought that someone soemwhere would have said :"Hey! lets have a catchy name that the whole world can say and remember." (Or at the very least, let's spell like it is spoken )

Oh... I was forgetting ...TIT

Will some kind person please tell me what TIT stands for . I do know about the anatomical appendage !

Thanks. Cheers

Sorry for editing the above post. Meant to ask "will some kind person please tell me the meaning of the abbreviation , TIT. I do know about the anatomical version .

Think it is supposed to mean "This is Thailand" - a phrase unimaginative people use to descibe what they dont understand.

[SwaziBird]

Funny enough, Thais call it Suvarnabhum. Only foreigners add an i to it.

Actually, the Thais call it Suwannapoom, which is how it's spelled in Thai. The "i" is actually there in the Thai spelling, but shouldn't be pronounced.

Thanks for detailing. I thought only consonants are written but not spelled at the end of words in Thai. One never stops learning...

The silent consonant is more common, and to make it easier, it's marked with a special character, a "kallan". With vowels, it gets more complicated, since they have to stand together with a consonant, and in this case, the consonant "m" isn't silent, so no "kallan". As far as I know, the phenomenon only appears in a relatively small quantity of names. Still, it gets confusing when they assume that foreigners understand that the vowel is silent, even when it's there in the English translation.

Slightly off topic, but it amuses me that this wonderful new airport - destined to be the new Hub for Asia - to be used by millions of people around the world - is given a name that can only be prounced properly by Thais and Thai speaking farangs. Everyone else is confused and bewildered by the English transliteration and pronounces it incorrectly.

Deliberate?

Possibly, but if not, you would have thought that someone soemwhere would have said :"Hey! lets have a catchy name that the whole world can say and remember." (Or at the very least, let's spell like it is spoken )

Oh... I was forgetting ...TIT

Will some kind person please tell me what TIT stands for . I do know about the anatomical appendage !

Thanks. Cheers

Sorry for editing the above post. Meant to ask "will some kind person please tell me the meaning of the abbreviation , TIT. I do know about the anatomical version .

Think it is supposed to mean "This is Thailand" - a phrase unimaginative people use to descibe what they dont understand.

"Thanks Blake. "

Sorry to have drawn you off topic. Life's mysteries are slowly being revealed !

Cheers

[Dupont]

The silent consonant is more common, and to make it easier, it's marked with a special character, a "kallan". With vowels, it gets more complicated, since they have to stand together with a consonant, and in this case, the consonant "m" isn't silent, so no "kallan".

The final vowels that may be silent are short /a/, /i/ and /u/, the latter as in the first half of Phanthip as in Phanthip Plaza. Final short /a/ is very often silent, but as it is only written in the graphic transliteration of Thai, most people don't realise it's there. The most prominent example is 'Rama', as in Rama IV Road (Thanon Phra Ram Thi Si). The final 'a' of Rama is neither written nor sounded in Thai. And you probably thought the ins and outs of cricket were complicated.

Always amazed me why when transliteration takes place they use "V" as the letter of choice for "ว" (Wor waan) when we have a perfectly good "W" which transliterates perfectly. Its slightly off topic, but having a name that no visitors can pronouce propery when hailing a cab etc, is not a great idea. A truly international airport should have an international sounding name.

Back on Topic, this is serious news. Nobody expects anybody to be brought to account again and its going to be paid for by the Thai Tax Payer again.

[Mobi]

Think it is supposed to mean "This is Thailand" - a phrase unimaginative people use to descibe what they dont understand.

On the contrary my imaginitive friend - the acronym is used to describe something we do understand.

BTW it never fails to amaze me why some people cannot resist the urge to resort to personal insults, where none were neither given, nor intended.

[SwaziBird]

Think it is supposed to mean "This is Thailand" - a phrase unimaginative people use to descibe what they dont understand.

On the contrary my imaginitive friend - the acronym is used to describe something we do understand.

BTW it never fails to amaze me why some people cannot resist the urge to resort to personal insults, where none were neither given, nor intended.

Didn't think I'd start a war !

TIT ?

thanks guys.

Cheers

[Mid]

TG aircraft forced to land on Utapao to fill up gas tank

The Thai Airways company indicates that 2 of its planes were forced to land at U-Tapao airbase for refueling due to aviation congestion at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The Managing Director of the Thai Airways company board, Flight Officer Apinan SumanaSeranee (อภินันทน์ สุมนะเศรณี ), revealed that 2 Thai Airway flights, TG 414 from Singapore to Bangkok and TG 621 from Osaka to Manila to Bangkok were forced to land at U-Tapao airbase due to a runway closure at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The closure came after repairs were initiated to reduce the runway\'s length. Aviation congestion from a large number of aircraft therefore caused many planes to miss their landing timetable.

Flight Office Apinan said that fuel constraints eventually caused the 2 aircraft to request the Suvarnabhumi Air Traffic Control for a refuelling stop at U-Tapao airbase. The flights are reported to have returned to overhead flight patterns over Suvarbhumi Airport and have since landed safely.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 26 January 2007

[Maejo Man]

Thin end being inserted?

[farang prince]

what ya all worried about??...wont be a problem as you read above.

with modern rapid set concrete it only takes 2 hours to fill a crack.

Yes and if you use Preparation H suppositories you can solve you hemerroid problem in two hours too.

[Jai Dee]

Suvarnabhumi's construction embarrasment of country: Tortrakul

A director of the Airports of Thailand Plc said the massive corruption in the construction of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport had embarrassed the country in the eyes of foreign engineers.

The director, Tortrakul Yommanak who is investigating corruption and problems at the new airport, was speaking during the Siam This Morning programme broadcast on Channel 5 at 6:15 am Friday.

Interviewed by Nation Group editor Thepchai Yong, Tortrakul said he felt very embarrassed when talking about the issue with foreign engineers.

He said the massive corruption was definitely known to people or firms involved during the design or construction but no one talked about it.

"The corruption disease spread like when one was bitten by a vampire, he or she turned into another vampire and bit other people more," Tortrakul said, when Thepchai asked he felt embarrassed when talking to foreign engineers regarding the Suvarnabhumi fiasco.

Tortrakul compared the problems regarding the cracks at the runways and taxiways at the airport like a millionaire being fooled to buy poor-quality goods.

"I feel sad. It was like we are a millionaire. Other millionaires bug good-quality products but we got fake goods. Had this been involved a millionaire, he would have suffered alone. But the country was cheated so it was embarrassing to the country. It is embarrassing in the eyes of visiting foreigners and Thais [who use the airport]," Tortrakul said.

He said the partial repair of the runways could cost more than Bt300 million.

Source: The Nation - 26 January 2007

[Mobi]

what ya all worried about??...wont be a problem as you read above.

with modern rapid set concrete it only takes 2 hours to fill a crack.

Yes and if you use Preparation H suppositories you can solve you hemerroid problem in two hours too.

Reminds me of the time when I rented a 3 storey house in BKK.

I informed the landlord that there was a leak from the bathroom on the third floor, seeping through the floor and running down a structural column to a room on the 2nd floor where it was settling in a puddle on the floor and making a mess of the ceiling, column and floor.

He called the structural engineers in, and after inspecting the problem for several days, they came up with a solution. They built a little cement channel half way down the column, drilled a hole in the outside wall,and the leaking water was diverted through to the outside wall, and thence out of sight.

Maybe they could drill a few holes in the runways, and and build little channels to send the water back to the swamps from whence it came.

I could refer them to the engineer in question if they need expert advice.

[stoneman]

I just have a feeling that, if the decision was made to close the airport and move back to Don Muang until repairs are completed, it is quite possible that they would never reopen the airport...Not sure if they can ever get everything repaired and operating properly.

[Jai Dee]

Old Thai proverbs shed light on airport fiasco

Why can't they do one thing right at Suvarnabhumi Airport? In a way, the Suvarnabhumi Airport mirrors Thai society.

We have an excellent location to be the transport hub of Southeast Asia. We are a great nation with a rich history (have you watched "The Legend of King Naresuan"?). We have the natural resources. We have the facilities. But we can't do things right.

Why?

You probably have to go back to the Thai proverbs or old Thai sayings to understand the particular traits that have given rise to the mother of all sloppy and corrupt projects - the new airport.

It took more than 40 years, an incredibly long time, to plan, design and build this airport, during which time politicians came and went. This is in line with the saying chao cham yen cham ('I just wash one dish in the morning and another dish in the evening'), which describes motionless people who are very economical with their energy and who rarely set their sights on getting anything done. Chao cham yen cham is most often used to describe civil servants who are lazy and lack the incentive to work. Well, that's why it took us 40 years to build the airport. Cracks have begun to appear in a taxiway and runway only four months after its opening. This has raised doubts about the standard of safety at the airport.

It all goes back to the time when politicians, civil servants and contractors colluded to fill in the land at Suvarnabhumi in a suk ao phao kin ('I'll eat it regardless of whether it's cooked or burnt') way. Suvarnabhumi was originally swampland with a high incidence of floods. Efforts to fill in the land began during the government of General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and continued through to the government of Chuan Leekpai.

Engineers and technicians will have to investigate whether the land at Suvarnabhumi was filled adequately enough to support the taxiway and runway. The authorities, at one time, used to allow some water into the land to alleviate flooding in nearby areas, possibly undermining the foundation of the taxiway and runway. So, now we have the cracks in a taxiway and runway as a result of this substandard practice.

We happened to have dishonest politicians, civil servants and contractors responsible for this, who went about their jobs in a manner that was suk ao phao kin. Suk ao phao kin means to do things sloppily or recklessly. This suk ao phao kin behaviour is another prominent Thai trait.

The roof of the terminal also leaks. You might substitute suk ao phao kin when referring to this approach to construction and call it loop na pa jamook ('I just need to stroke my face and patch up the nose then I can get away with it').

Don't forget to open up your umbrella once you are inside the terminal - it might rain!

During the six years of Thaksin Shinawatra's reign, construction of the airport terminal and other facilities got off the ground and it was eventually completed. This gave politicians and civil servants a good chance to revise the design and call in new contracts to facilitate bribes.

The contractors had to pay bia bai rai thang ('I have to pay money under the table all the way'). With the cost of the bia bai rai thang, the contractors had to compromise on the quality of the jobs they were hired to do.

While the Thaksin government was in power, politicians adopted a nam khuen hai reep tak ('I must fetch the water while the tide is high') approach. It was time for the opportunists to make money without fear of the consequences. They wanted to open Suvarnabhumi as quickly as possible because only then they could walk away with lucrative deals from the contractors. Now that Thaksin has gone, all the dirty tricks that occurred while the airport was built have become evident. The saying nam lot tor phut ('when the tide goes down, all the stumps show up') accurately captures this. The stench of corruption hovers over the procurement of the CTX luggage scanners and the underground power-line system. There are not enough toilets for passengers, as toilet bowls had to make way for shops.

Shortly after the coup, the military leaders asked the airport authorities if they were ready to open Suvarnabhumi or not. If things were not ready, they could delay the opening further. The authorities assured everybody that the airport was 100 per cent ready to open.

This haste to open Suvarnabhumi was an act of phak chi roi na ('topping my face with coriander just to get a way with it'). In July, two months before he was ousted, Thaksin had proudly launched a soft opening of the airport by flying from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. He wanted the new airport to become a hallmark of his government's success.

As a result, we have an airport that is beautiful from the outside, but inside it is hollow. This is equivalent to khang nok sook sai khangnai pen kluang ('I look beautiful from the outside, but don't ever kiss me!') It's hard to believe how badly things have turned out at Suvarnabhumi. Only the old proverbs can say it all.

Editorial Opinion by Thanong Khanthong - The Nation - 26 January 2007

[HOOD Robin]

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen accompanied Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr, the Council for National Security (CNS) secretary in his behalf as board chairman of the Airports of Thailand, to inspect runways and taxi-ways at the new airport.

Boy do I hate it when you get this kind of spin......The people mentioned above would not know a "good" runway or taxi-way if it bit them in the ass.

I am in the airline buisness....(operations and mainenance) and just a few miles from where I live is LAX. They removed the most southern runway and are re-doing it for the Airbus A 380 due to size and weight.

They remove the earth to almost 3 meters below the surface and start the runway base from here. In the touchdown zones the concrete is over 1.5 meters thick....

The Thais can do what-ever cosmetic stuff they desire, but the problem remains with the foundation to the runway and taxi-ways, and it will take a solid 6 months of excavation to really fix the problem.

Of course TIT, and nobody will ever loose face for the money they pocketed and the junk that was allowed to be built.

Suvarnabhumi has some special problems as the land that was selected was almost swamp, so finding a base to support aircraft weighing 750,000 lbs as they roll over the taxi-ways and runways with only 3 points of contact puts a tremedous force on the tarmac below....They had the money to do it right, and I really wish the military would use a "scorched earth" policy towards those involved in the airport construction. (i.e. Complete confiscation and forfeiture of all family assests of those involve that allowed this type of construction to take place).

JMHO (of course)

I can totally agree with Old Wanderer ! These guys deserve the Bangkok Hilton, and all the money they stole with this corruption, well, give it to the poor Thai people.... It's really a shame for such a beautiful nation, but so many bad and corrupt leaders ! but what can the average Thai guy do about it when this corruption is in ALL high levels in this country ? Correct, NOTHING ! TiT and it will always be......

[Mobi]

Old Thai proverbs shed light on airport fiasco........

.....It's hard to believe how badly things have turned out at Suvarnabhumi. Only the old proverbs can say it all.

Editorial Opinion by Thanong Khanthong - The Nation - 26 January 2007

What a wonderful Editorial Opinion JD

So there you have it, tokolosh, if you wish a more imaginative and illustrative explanation of TIT, I can't do better than refer you to Khun Thanong's excellent and amusing article.

[sonnyJ]

The silent consonant is more common, and to make it easier, it's marked with a special character, a "kallan". With vowels, it gets more complicated, since they have to stand together with a consonant, and in this case, the consonant "m" isn't silent, so no "kallan".

The final vowels that may be silent are short /a/, /i/ and /u/, the latter as in the first half of Phanthip as in Phanthip Plaza. Final short /a/ is very often silent, but as it is only written in the graphic transliteration of Thai, most people don't realise it's there. The most prominent example is 'Rama', as in Rama IV Road (Thanon Phra Ram Thi Si). The final 'a' of Rama is neither written nor sounded in Thai. And you probably thought the ins and outs of cricket were complicated.

Always amazed me why when transliteration takes place they use "V" as the letter of choice for "ว" (Wor waan) when we have a perfectly good "W" which transliterates perfectly. Its slightly off topic, but having a name that no visitors can pronouce propery when hailing a cab etc, is not a great idea. A truly international airport should have an international sounding name.

Back on Topic, this is serious news. Nobody expects anybody to be brought to account again and its going to be paid for by the Thai Tax Payer again.

To clarify this, the mark woo-waaen is a vowel combination (ua) if the mark is before and after are consonants. I don't know if you english-speakers-as-first-language can pronounce it, but we the most of the world know that english is the most weirdest language what comes to spelling and pronunciation in what even the native speakers fail more or less usually. For us it makes perfect sense.

Maybe the International Airport sounds international enough..

[sonnyJ]

Very surprising and even promising stories from the Nation.

When they would expand this to all Thailand, or atleast show some progress...

Being cheated is a common feeling for the first time visitor. And it happens everywhere in Thailand.. As someone said this whole country is in need of repair. Better sooner than later. If they want to enjoy the cash coming in...