Decision On New Airport In Samui Awaiting Amendment Of Aviation Law

[sbk]

Aviation Department in process of amending, updating law

BANGKOK, July 29 (TNA) - Thailand's Aviation Department is amending an aviation law which has been enforced since 1954 which will increase its power and allows it to supervise aircraft and parts manufacturing, as well as building and renovating new airports in Thailand, said the department chief.

Aviation Department director-general Chaisak Angsuwan said the existing aviation law in use for 53 years needed to be amended as many other countries had already updated their laws.

Mr. Chaisak said a plan to construct a second airport on the southern resort island of Koh Samui in Surat Thani province would have to wait after the amendment of the law is completed.

Concerned officials are now studying whether the construction would cause any negative impact on the environment in the popular resort. (TNA) - E111

TNA

[Mid]

Samui does not need a new airport .

[sbk]

Concerned officials are now studying whether the construction would cause any negative impact on the environment in the popular resort. (TNA) - E111

Makes me wonder if they really do environmental impact studies at all, especially when considering some of the things they've done here on Koh Phangan that have negatively impacted the environment (harbor in Ban Tai has altered the currents causing massive beach erosion in Ban Kai, dredging of port in Thong Sala has caused massive beach erosion in Ban Tai).

[Mid]

look out ,

KPG would be a better location !!!!

[sbk]

look out ,

KPG would be a better location !!!!

Last I heard, there had found no suitable places for it.

[John 1]

Build a new airport on Samui and close the old one down, it was ok years ago now Chaweng has grown and it could only be a matter of time before a aircraft plows off the end of the runway into Chaweng. I'm always looking on the bright side.

I assume this post will bring plenty of response.

[taxexile]

i understood that according to international aviation safety regulations there has to be at least 15 (or is it 20) kilometers between any two airports , and that there is nowhere suitable for a second airport on samui if that regulation is to be observed.

not that regulations and their observance have ever stopped anything going ahead in thailand , but i hope that the government are not trying to amend that regulation.

[Gatorade]

i understood that according to international aviation safety regulations there has to be at least 15 (or is it 20) kilometers between any two airports , and that there is nowhere suitable for a second airport on samui if that regulation is to be observed.

not that regulations and their observance have ever stopped anything going ahead in thailand , but i hope that the government are not trying to amend that regulation.

It is not a regulation.there are loads of airports all over the world both controlled and uncontrolled (including Thailand) who live in very close proximity to each other. It is a matter of designing safe procedures to enable safe separation between aircraft to be achieved. I do not think that this is possible here.(This was the subject of much discussion in this forum last year)

In my opinion there is absolutely no good reason to build another airport here or K.P. If things could get any worse environmentally, another airport with all the required supporting infrastructure would be a main contributor.

[the gent]

Perhaps the construction of a proper airport will usher in a new era in which the island's infrastructure may improve with the increase in tourism that such a development is bound to encourage?

Flying pigs notwithstanding, at least it will slaughter Bangkok Airways' cash cow and not before time, the greedy tossers.

[limbos]

Build a new airport on Samui and close the old one down, it was ok years ago now Chaweng has grown and it could only be a matter of time before a aircraft plows off the end of the runway into Chaweng. I'm always looking on the bright side.

I assume this post will bring plenty of response.

Happened already 22/11/90 link

[John 1]

I saw the results of that crash it was coming in to land from the south and mountain side of the runway, lucky it was nose down into coconut plantation, what I'm talking about is fully loaded taking off over Chaweng.

[t.s]

look out ,

KPG would be a better location !!!!

Last I heard, there had found no suitable places for it.

and the locals werent too happy, a number of angry signs appeared when the rumour was hot.

many of the more established old families in the flats around ban nai suan would not be happy about moving at all.

I

[leemond]

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...752C1A966958260 Edited August 3, 2007 by leemond

[Gatorade]

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...752C1A966958260

Interesting, but not really relevant to the original post. The aircraft in question was on the approach and had not actually landed so it would be difficult to make a link between the accident and the airport facilities. Moreover, it would be hard to conclude that a new airport would prevent a recurrence, no matter what length of runway.

[Belgarath]

Having somewhat special requirements - more time than money and with some walking problems, walking with a crutch - I had probably seen the advantage of better communication from the airport of Surathani to Samui.

How are the communications there really? I have been a few times on Samui and felt unusually good, but either taken the usual expensive plane to Samui from BKK or gone via bus/train to Surathani and then the boats. the boats WORK for me but are often troublesome in one way or another. Once I came from Malaysia, had to take a night boat and that was a horror experience - walking over a plank with no balance and no handhold. Walking on the big ferry once where one had to climb over thick ropes blabla - do that with an infarct in the balance center in the brain stem thanx to diabetes!

I think of a modern big ferry like betwen Sweden and Denmark - took it the other day, absolutely no problems whatsoever. Just walk.

[samuijack]

Samui does not need a new airport .

Quite right. Samui airport could handle maybe 3/4 times the number of flights it operates, depending on the time of day. But they would not be able to get the slots into BKK as the airspace there is already at its maximum. Building a new airport in Samui or PNG would not solve this problem.

[highdiver]

Samui does not need a new airport .

Quite right. Samui airport could handle maybe 3/4 times the number of flights it operates, depending on the time of day. But they would not be able to get the slots into BKK as the airspace there is already at its maximum. Building a new airport in Samui or PNG would not solve this problem.

but they can apply for international arrivals not going through bkk. on one post there is a word about direct flights from china. that will bring in many tourists.

'

[Gatorade]

Samui does not need a new airport .

Quite right. Samui airport could handle maybe 3/4 times the number of flights it operates, depending on the time of day. But they would not be able to get the slots into BKK as the airspace there is already at its maximum. Building a new airport in Samui or PNG would not solve this problem.

I agree with you that the existing Samui could easily increase the number of flights, but

Slot restrictions to fly into NBIA ??? No way! Taxiway congestion yes, but that is because AOT have a lot of finishing /repair work at the new airport, and who knows? That may be rectified one day.

The airspace is nowhere near max capacity, although there are sometimes slot restrictions for international Longhaul flights departing BKK wishing to access the upper airspace.

In any case the old BKK airport is still available and running at low capacity even though it is fully operational.

But as stated on many previous posts, in my opinion there is not one valid reason to further cover the remnants of Samui in concrete except to satisfy a vocal minority who dislike Bangkok Airways.

[LaoPo]

I think of a modern big ferry like betwen Sweden and Denmark - took it the other day, absolutely no problems whatsoever. Just walk.

I took the ferries Denmark-Sweden just last week; 2 different ones v.v.

But ferries do sink also...

850+ lives were lost on the ferry between Tallinn/Estonia and Stockholm, Sweden, September 27, 1994...

LaoPo

[highdiver]

I think of a modern big ferry like betwen Sweden and Denmark - took it the other day, absolutely no problems whatsoever. Just walk.

I took the ferries Denmark-Sweden just last week; 2 different ones v.v.

But ferries do sink also...

850+ lives were lost on the ferry between Tallinn/Estonia and Stockholm, Sweden, September 27, 1994...

LaoPo

i thoght they buit a hguge bridge that conected the. seen something on NG. if so why use the ferries.

[LaoPo]

I think of a modern big ferry like betwen Sweden and Denmark - took it the other day, absolutely no problems whatsoever. Just walk.

I took the ferries Denmark-Sweden just last week; 2 different ones v.v.

But ferries do sink also...

850+ lives were lost on the ferry between Tallinn/Estonia and Stockholm, Sweden, September 27, 1994...

LaoPo

i thoght they buit a hguge bridge that conected the. seen something on NG. if so why use the ferries.

You're right; they built a huge tunnel/bridge connection between Copenhagen/Denmark area and Malmo/Sweden which I drove 9 days ago; coming from Germany you still have to take a ferry if you want to have the short-cut to Sweden; you can drive all the way thru Denmark from Germany if you wish but that route is much longer; than just a short ferryride of 20 minutes to Sweden; from Helsingor to Helsingborg vv.

LaoPo

[Belgarath]

The bridge, when was it built, in the year 2000? - is fine in many ways, but also expensive to use. I do remember the good old times when the big ferry between Malmö and Copenhagen took 2 hours; you could in summer sit on deck and have a couple of custom free strong beers (in those days before Sweden joined EU you could not buy beer more than 4.5% alcohol here in Sweden and import only 2 liters).

Often one got free ferry tickets from shops in Copenhagen, while now a return trip with train from here to Copenhagen for two is something like US$50.

Sure - a bit stormy and/or icy weather and the ferries between Copenhagen and Malmö could not go, so one had to take train 50 kms to the ferry between Helsingborg and Helsingör - they ALWAYS go.

Anyway, the water here between the countries is too narrow for ferries to have any place to sink.......

The point is, that modern ferries are very convenient, and - ok - I have not the faintest idea of the costs but with such a ferry between Samui and the Mainland, a lot of problems would not exist anymore. I think many would pay for it! And no need to put concrete on more of Samui. They need that to fill the potholes in the roads.