Bangkok Will Have Two International Airports

[Bagwan]

To assist in the reduction of additional costs incurred through the operation of two airports serving Krung Thep I suggest that AOT make hoops and sticks available for those travellers traversing the city between the two. The more energetic could, for a fee, upgrade to in line skates.

[cclub75]

Hum... I guess the title of this thread might need a change...

"Don Muang may not be reopened: offiical"

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30026966

For the mental health of the community, I suggest a far more cautious -and neutral- title : "Last Z-Turns in Thailand".

Sounds good, no ?

Edited February 16, 2007 by cclub75

[Crossy]

Hum... I guess the title of this thread might need a change...

"Don Muang may not be reopened: offiical"

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30026966

For the mental health of the community, I suggest a far more cautious -and neutral- title : "Last Z-Turns in Thailand".

Sounds good, no ?

Yeah, I just spotted that one too, who knows what will really happen. Hopefully not a major incident involving an aircraft and a crack.

[wintermute]

Hum... I guess the title of this thread might need a change...

"Don Muang may not be reopened: offiical"

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30026966

For the mental health of the community, I suggest a far more cautious -and neutral- title : "Last Z-Turns in Thailand".

Sounds good, no ?

Yeah, I just spotted that one too, who knows what will really happen. Hopefully not a major incident involving an aircraft and a crack.

The first major or potential airline disaster in the new airport will pretty much spell doom for Thailand's future as an air "hub" of anything. As it is they are already losing whatever potential they had to make that happen. This entire airport debacle has been an enormous loss of face. It's no wonder the generals has been so eager to distract the populace with nationalist rhetoric.

[slimdog]

SUVARNABHUMI CRISIS

'Can we get to work please?'

Engineers say they are waiting for green light to drain water from sand below airfield in damage-control operation

Engineers are wondering how bad the problems need to get at Suvarnabhumi Airport before the government gives them the go-ahead to start fixing things. In one of its strongest public statements, the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) insisted on the urgent need to drain water from beneath the tarmac now - or risk closure of the entire runway and taxiway system.

Karun Chandrarangsu, EIT president, said technical studies have clearly shown that water trapped in the sand layer under the airport tarmac causes ruts and cracks in the airfield. Draining the water is imperative for damage control before experts determine permanent repair methods.

"Suvarnabhumi is like a patient in a coma who continues to suffer from severe bleeding. Stopping the blood flow now is more urgent and important than debating what caused the injury," Karun said.

In their statement issued yesterday, EIT experts warned that if the water is allowed to remain in the sand, the airport may start to see ruts and cracks spread from the currently damaged areas of about 80,000 square metres to the rest of the two million square metres of runways and taxiways.

It is becoming clearer that the problems affecting Suvarnabhumi are far more administrative and political than technical, many engineers said.

Since Tortrakul Yomnak, chairman of the airport's tarmac inspection panel, announced his findings on Monday, there have been a series of meetings at the airport this week to discuss installing a network of pipes and filters to allow water to flow back out from under the sand, which would then allow the area to be repaired.

An Airports of Thailand (AOT) source told The Nation that while it's agreed this method should be employed, no one seems to know who is to give the workers the go-ahead to get started.

"Engineers and technicians on the ground have been ready since Wednesday, but we have to wait for someone higher up to give us the green light," the source said. "If this is a normal situation we would have done it by now, but Suvarnabhumi is now so politically sensitive we can't take the risk in case somebody doesn't like what we do."

The source said technical staff would have more confidence if the drainage operation were commissioned by the AOT board of directors.

However, AOT's board president General Saprang Kalayanamitr told The Nation that the board's job was to oversee the organisation's policy - not the technical side of the operation.

"Why wait for my order? If they see a drowning man, will they wait for my order to jump into the river to the man's rescue?" Saprang asked. "If they can't do their jobs, let someone else do it."

Nonetheless, EIT's Suebsak Promboon agreed with ground engineers that the matter needed to be decided by someone with higher authority, possibly as high as the Cabinet level, because of the legal implications of the issue.

Some concerns were raised about warranty issues associated with intervening before a more complete investigation has identified if some of the engineering and construction firms are liable for the problems.

However, all parties were assured that such an intervention in these situations were not uncommon and only needed to be well-documented.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont chaired a meeting of officials and experts to tackle the problems at Suvarnabhumi yesterday, but government reports about the meeting did not mention when and how the repair work would start at the airport.

The frustrating part about all of this, noted Suebsak, is that AOT was informed about the water problem four months ago. His organisation sent AOT a report warning them that a few cracks that had already occurred were likely the result of water leaking into the sand layer beneath the pavement, and that immediate action should be taken to extract it.

"The AOT did nothing about the problem," Suebsak recalled. "The situation might not have become this bad if the water had been drained then."

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/17...es_30027125.php

[Jai Dee]

Foreign airlines reject move to Don Muang

International air carriers have rejected calls to move some of their flights back to Bangkok’s old airport at Don Muang to ease congestion while repairs are carried out at the new airport, saying they preferred Suvarnabhumi as the main hub.

Meanwhile, the key aviation committee, chaired by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, resolved Friday to keep Bangkok’s new airport open during repairs to its cracked taxiways and runways.

The committee was informed by the Transport Ministry that although numerous cracks appeared on most of the taxi areas, the taxiways and the runways had experienced minor damage as underground water in the sand layer under the tarmac caused subsidence and cracks on the surface.

Yongyuth Mayalarp, Thai government spokesman, told a press conference that the damage would not pose safety risks to aircraft taking off and landing at the new airport.

“Part of the west runway and the taxiways would be closed for repairs between two weeks and two months depending on the scale of the problem. We do not have to shut down the entire facility,” Mr Yongyuth said.

Problems to the terminal building such as the roof-top lighting system and the faulty air bridges were classified as “not critical”. Repairs were ongoing and would be completed soon, he added.

According to the spokesman, almost all 60 airlines said during a meeting Friday that they would prefer to keep all their flights at Suvarnabhumi as they wanted to see the facility as Bangkok's sole international aviation hub.

The meeting was called to discuss the government plan to operate two international airports for Bangkok.

A total of only 71 domestic and charter flights without international connections, operated by just three carriers -- Nok Air, One Two Go and some Thai Airways services - will begin flying out of Don Muang next month, six months after the 90-years-old airport closed to commercial traffic.

The spokesman said the decision would ease heavy air traffic at Suvarnabhumi by 17 per cent.

Nine airlines affiliated with Star Alliance that fly into and out of Bangkok daily - including Thai Airways, All Nippon Airways, Austrian Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines and United Airlines - will all continue to operate

from the glossy new showcase airport, built on former swampland at a cost of almost US$4-billion over 10 years. It was opened in September last year.

They called on the government to draw up a long term airport development plan with fully-integrated transport links between the two airports if it intended to reactivate Don Muang as a second hub for Bangkok.

Source: TNA - 17 February 2007

[Jai Dee]

Transport Ministry today proposes the re-opening date of Don Mueng Airport to the Cabinet

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakul (ปรีดิยาธร เทวกุล ), indicated that Transport Ministry will propose the schedule for the re-opening of Don Mueng Airport on March 25th to the Cabinet.

M.R. Pridiyathorn revealed that Transport Ministry will today report the result of the meeting of Committee for the operation of Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueng Airport to the Cabinet meeting today.

70 airlines, including Nok Air and One to Go, reportedly volunteer to operate their domestic flights at the Don Mueng Airport.

The Transport Ministry will ask for approval from the Cabinet on re-opening Don Mueng Airport on March 25th.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 20 Febuary 2007

[ovenman]

70 airlines, including Nok Air and One to Go, reportedly volunteer to operate their domestic flights at the Don Mueng Airport.

Who are these 70 airlines operating domestic flights within Thailand?

[Sing_Sling]

70 airlines, including Nok Air and One to Go, reportedly volunteer to operate their domestic flights at the Don Mueng Airport.

Who are these 70 airlines operating domestic flights within Thailand?

They obviously only reported on the BIG airlines moving. Nok and One to Go . . . same level as BA and JAL . . .

[sriracha john]

70 airlines airplanes, including those belonging to Nok Air and One to Go, reportedly volunteered to operate their domestic flights at the Don Mueng Airport. Several 777's were the first to raise their hands when the call for volunteers went out.

Who are these 70 airlines operating domestic flights within Thailand?

news article correctly edited... to eliminate above confusion.

Edited February 20, 2007 by sriracha john

[ovenman]

70 airlines, including Nok Air and One to Go, reportedly volunteer to operate their domestic flights at the Don Mueng Airport.

Who are these 70 airlines operating domestic flights within Thailand?

They obviously only reported on the BIG airlines moving. Nok and One to Go . . . same level as BA and JAL . . .

Sure those two are the big airlines, but there are assuredly not 70 different domestic carriers operating in Thailand. This story was presented on Channel 11's Newsline program tonight. They said there would be 70 domestic flights daily from Don Muang. That makes sense. The press release must have been in error.

[Sing_Sling]

70 airlines, including Nok Air and One to Go, reportedly volunteer to operate their domestic flights at the Don Mueng Airport.

Who are these 70 airlines operating domestic flights within Thailand?

They obviously only reported on the BIG airlines moving. Nok and One to Go . . . same level as BA and JAL . . .

Sure those two are the big airlines, but there are assuredly not 70 different domestic carriers operating in Thailand. This story was presented on Channel 11's Newsline program tonight. They said there would be 70 domestic flights daily from Don Muang. That makes sense. The press release must have been in error.

Tongue-in-cheek responses I'd say!

[Jai Dee]

AOT to finalise terms to manage Don Muang airport next week

Airports of Thailand will next week finalise the terms of reference to pave way for private companies' bidding for the management of Don Muang Airport's commercial space.

Kulya Pakakrong, acting president of AOT which operates both Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi airports, said that through the biddings, AOT is selecting the operators of shops, limousine service, telephone lines, and television screens.

AOT would also have to hire more security guards and cleaners while Thai Airways International and Thai Airports Ground Services (TAGS) would be given the right to provide the airport ground services at Don Muang.

AOT's board recently approved the Bt50 million budget to renovate the buildings before the airport could be reopened on March 25.

Source: The Nation - 21 February 2007

[John K]

THAI to switch most domestic flights to Don Muang - Mar. 25

Thai Airways Plc (THAI) will begin operating 30 daily domestic flights from Don Muang airport as of March 25, an airline official said Thursday.

Thai Airways will maintain six daily flights at the new Suvarnabhumi international airport, between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Phuket and Krabi, Thai Airways President Apinan Sumanaseni said.

- The Nation