Airport Fiasco - Govt Urged To Close Suvarnabhumi

[John K]

Looking at the map of the cracks, where aircraft dwell and lateral energy is exerted seems to be the most common places.

[Plus]

70,000 take-offs and landings by large jets at the new airport without incident - I doubt the "cracks" are as cavernous as advertised by the generals. The fact that 70,000 planes have not contributed to the Air Force retirement fund at Don Muang golf course, now that is a very, very dangerous situation indeed that we all should be worried about.

That Totrakul guy is not exactly a general. Everyone has been saying for a while now that it's impossible to find a truly objective specialist in Thailand as most of them have worked on this same airport sometime in the past.

Inviting foreigners to assess the damage will take not only political will but also time. Even if they manage that, what are the chances of foreigners receveing cooperation they need from AOT? Who at AOT will ever implicate himself and release damning documentation on construction/contracts/materials etc. They can't purge AOT board either - there is no one to replace them.

I think they will have to do with Totrakul findings and recommendations for practical reasons.

[jumnien]

Most international airlines have expressed a desire to stay at the new airport. If they perceived that there was anything at the new airport that compromised the safety of their airplanes or passengers I'm sure they would want to move to Don Muang for a few months.

[jumnien]

From Today's Bangkok Post:

Star backs THAI stand on airport

Alliance says two sites too costly

BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA

Carriers under the Star Alliance, one of the world's largest airline groups, are backing Thai Airways International in its contention that Suvarnabhumi should be Bangkok's only international airport. The nine Star airlines that operate flights through Bangkok's troubled new airport are collectively expected to make a formal announcement confirming their stance within two days, according to industry insiders.

The nine are ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Thai Airways, Lufthansa, SAS, Swiss, Singapore Airlines and United. They operate 1,092 departures a week, providing nearly half the passenger seats through Suvarnabhumi.

Air India and Turkish Airlines, which also operate through the new airport and are due to join the alliance, also favour the ''under one roof'' strategy.

Star will become the first major international airline group to take an official stand in the debate surrounding the proposed reopening of Don Muang airport for international services.

The initial response from many international carriers was a preference to stay at Suvarnabhumi until the government made clear its policy, which had left them confused and frustrated.

The cabinet's resolution last week to fully reopen Don Muang as Bangkok's second international airport raised a host of questions over the practicality and economic sense of having two airports running concurrently. It also overturned a long-standing policy to have only one international airport serving the capital.

The preference by most international airlines to remain at Suvarnabhumi could deal a blow to the Surayud Chulanont administration's plan to move some commercial flights back to Don Muang to ease heavy traffic and free up room to carry out repairs to damaged runways and taxiways at Suvarnabhumi.

Only the no-frills airline Thai AirAsia and its parent AirAsia, Southeast Asia's largest low-cost carrier, have expressed willingness to return to Don Muang.

Insiders said Star airlines had agreed to stick together and follow the lead of Thai Airways, the group's local host carrier, which provides extensive support services including premium passenger lounges at Suvarnabhumi.

Splitting operations between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi could seriously jeopardise the ability of Star airlines to offer ''seamless'' passenger services, they said.In its statement, Star is expected to scrupulously avoid becoming involved in sensitive political issues such as the safety of Suvarnabhumi for flights.

THAI has the backing of its union, which has submitted a letter of protest to Gen Surayud to press the case for keeping its international flights and connecting domestic services at Suvarnabhumi.

Thai Airways president Apinan Sumanaseni said the cost of operating at two sites would be prohibitive. The airline has already invested 16 billion baht in support facilities including flight operation and aircraft maintenance centres and flight kitchen at Suvarnabhumi.

Adm Theera Haocharoen, the transport minister, insisted to reporters yesterday that authorities would not force airlines to move back to Don Muang.

He supported a recommendation by a panel of investigators that the government should not close the 125-billion-baht new airport during repair work.

THAI shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 44.75 baht, up 25 satang, in trade worth 38.85 million baht.

[ThaiGoon]

I think I've read this somewhere:

"Both the Nation and Bangkok Post are guilty of printing just what the present government wants them to print. Neither paper has printed articles which document how the new airport construction issues have been manipulated to justify the coup and reap huge profits for military-related runway "fix-it" firms. At least the Pattaya Mail had some balls on that one!"

[jumnien]

I think I've read this somewhere:

"Both the Nation and Bangkok Post are guilty of printing just what the present government wants them to print. Neither paper has printed articles which document how the new airport construction issues have been manipulated to justify the coup and reap huge profits for military-related runway "fix-it" firms. At least the Pattaya Mail had some balls on that one!"

It's nice to see that the dominance of the local media by the coup-mongers is diminishing. They appear to be losing their grip. Perhaps the bells of freedom will be ringing soon!

(At first I was going to write, "What kind of an idiot would have written that, but I lost my humility!") HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

[Jai Dee]

THAI baulks at moving to Don Muang

National airline joins with 60 others in staying put after reports say repairs to new airport will not be very extensive

Thai Airways Inter-national along with more than 60 other airlines have confirmed they will stay at Suvarnabhumi Airport despite the government plan to reopen Don Muang as a second international terminal.

Meanwhile, three budget airlines, AirAsia, Jet Star Asia and Tiger Air, are expected to move to Don Muang Airport, said a source in the aviation industry.

At the board of directors meeting yesterday, THAI chairman Chalit Pukbhasuk said the airline had resolved to operate both domestic and international flights at Suvarnabhumi. Earlier, THAI planned to move its non-transit domestic flights to Don Muang.

"We have invested hugely in the new airport and we're also committed to provide facilities to clients of the Star Alliance members," he said.

THAI has invested Bt16 billion in facilities and equipment for the new airport, which has been opened for four months.

Chalit's statement is in line with the comment from an aviation source who said that the Board of Airline Representatives in Thailand (BAR), which represents more than 60 airlines operating in Thailand, including Thai Airways International Plc and all members of Star Alliance, have confirmed that its members will maintain operations at Suvarnabhumi because of the huge investment they have made.

"The airlines are now becoming more confident in using Suvarnabhumi Airport after the government reported the cracks in the taxiways and runway are not serious and it is committed to fixing the problems," the source said.

Council of Engineers President Vira Mavijak also said yesterday that Thai engineers are capable of fixing the problems at Suvarnabhumi without any help from foreign experts. He is against the Airports of Thailand chairman Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr's idea of appointing foreign engineers for the job, citing it would be a disgrace to the country.

"Moreover, problems at Suvarnabhumi are tiny and need not to be concealed given that they do not lead to safety problems," he added.

Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen will meet airline representatives today (February 15) to discuss further details about the operating of two international airports.

Theera cited earlier that Don Muang must be reopened as a domestic and international airport due to congestion at Suvarnabhumi. As some airlines move to Don Muang, traffic would be lighter at Suvarnabhumi and pave the way for repairs of the cracks on runways and taxiways.

It is not certain if Don Muang will be permanently reopened.

Meanwhile, according to the aviation source, Don Muang Airport could be reopened permanently but only for domestic flights.

AirAsia, Tiger Air and Jet Star Asia would move all the operations from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Don Muang Airport once the government makes a final decision on re-opening Don Muang.

"AirAsia is a Malaysian airline while the other two carriers are Singaporean. They will use Don Muang, where they don't need to make much investment," the source said.

However, Thailand's two budget airlines - Nok Air and One Two Go - are considering moving to Don Muang Airport but are waiting for clearer answers on how the authorities would operate the two airports.

Source: The Nation - 15 February 2007

[Jai Dee]

The Suvarnabhumi mess: who's in charge here?

Everybody talks about it almost every day, but nobody seems able to tell the public what exactly is happening at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. It also seems to me that practically everybody has an opinion about the new airport and how controversial it is.

However, I have yet to find anyone who could tell me who's going to make a decision on whether we are going back to Don Muang or not. And, if it is decided that we go back, when will that happen and what's going to happen to Suvarnabhumi?

Of course, we've heard a heated case made for closing down Suvarnabhumi totally to do complete repairs, while the country's aviation activities are transferred back to Don Muang. But then you also get an earful about how that's a terrible idea, because if that's the case then the whole world will be totally confused about what's up in Thailand.

If you stand on the one side, you would agree with those who strongly suggest that only a complete shutdown of the new airport would make a serious overhaul feasible. But if you happen to be on the opposite side, you would immediately jump in protest at such a crazy idea. You would certainly argue that the whole story about the cracks in Suvarnabhumi's runways and taxiways has been badly overblown by an apparent political bias. You would beg the other side, which has perfectly good intentions for the country mind you, to calm down and to fix only what needs fixing.

What's the cause behind all of this brouhaha? Simply put, the ongoing cacophony at the airport has stemmed from the fact that nobody is in charge of this issue. Too many cooks, no matter how hardworking, devoted and zealous, spoil the broth.

On any given day, you get to hear interviews, press conferences, background briefings, and off-the-record discussions on this very hot topic. These are given to the press by officials extremely keen on impressing the public how repugnant and damaging the previous government's undue haste in forcing the opening of the scandal-ridden airport was, simply because one man, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, wanted it that way.

On any given day, you get hear passionate revelations about the flaws at the new airport (yes, and don't you forget about the first major scandal concerning bomb-detecting CTX machines) from all sorts of qualified authorities. The number of government agencies involved is simply too many to even contemplate.

To mention just a few agencies whose officials have been making almost daily "disclosures" about the appalling state of the four-month-old Bt150-billion international airport: the Communications Ministry, the Airports of Thailand, anti-corruption agencies, the House select committee and its various subcommittees, the Royal Thai Air Force, Council of National Security, etc.

And, of course, there are also the "experts" assigned to find out exactly what's wrong. They aren't quite sure either. The latest reports have it that the country's top engineers and architects aren't closer to understanding the problem themselves, much less implementing a solution.

Were the cracks caused by poor engineering in draining water from the soft swamp soil a decade or so ago? If so, go get the culprits from the old days. Or is the problem related to the current surface-water management? If that's the case, it's the present airport operator who has to be held responsible.

More to the point: is it technical flaws or a case of high-level corruption? And those are only a few of the controversial points among the hundreds of questions demanding clear answers which, as things stand now, clearly aren't forthcoming.

The obvious question in the wake of this confusion is of course: who's in charge here?

It was with a sense of relief then that Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont finally came out with a statement of his own: he isn't in favour of closing down Suvarnabhumi completely for repairs because that could tarnish the country's reputation.

But that didn't solve the big question. It's not the premier's personal view that is being sought. What the country urgently needs now is a "crisis manager" who can coordinate all concerned parties and get them to come up with relevant and verifiable conclusions that can be updated for the public in an orderly, authoritative manner on a regular basis. We need this "crisis manager" to clearly distinguish between the probe into corruption charges related to the construction and operation of the airport and the need to get the new airport back to business as soon and as effectively as possible.

Of course, it would be the height of self-deception for anyone to jump to the conclusion that the prime minister's own conclusions one way or the other - just like the one Thaksin made to prematurely declare the airport open willy-nilly - would put the problem behind us once and for all.

But if things are going to be straightened out over this messy state of affairs at Cobra's Swamp, it's high time the prime minister realises he should take over this critical management role. As he told his Cabinet members recently, putting your risk-averse self in "neutral gear" for fear of taking responsibility is no longer an option.

Editorial Opinion by Suthichai Yoon - The Nation - 15 February 2007