Thailands Airports Boss Resigns

[george]

AOT chief resigns

BANGKOK: -- Airports of Thailand (AOT) acting president Kulya Pakakrong has tendered her resignation amid reported pressure from higher-ups over continuing problems at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

A source at AOT said Kulya tendered her resignation to the board on August 30, but the board has asked her to consider the matter thoroughly and has not yet approved her resignation.

"If Khun Kulya insists on her decision at the board meeting on September 6, we will review this issue," said the source, who asked not to be named. Kulya could be not reached for comment.

AOT officers said she was on an overseas trip but would return to attend the board meeting tomorrow.

The source admitted that Kulya had been uncomfortable as acting president because of several orders by the board - chiefly the order to remove King Power International Group's duty-free operation.

The case has gone to the Civil Court, which means King Power

has legal protection until the case is over.

Kulya said during an interview on August 24, a day after the board ordered management to remove the duty-free area, that she would seek legal advice from internal and external units about whether she was empowered to remove King Power.

She was afraid that any action in line with the board's decision would land her in trouble.

Kulya, as senior executive vice president for planning and finance, was appointed acting president by the AOT board chaired by Saprang Kalayanamitr in February. She was expected to serve for two months while the board selected a new president. However, the selection process has not yet finished.

According to Kulya, 10 people applied for the post but the Council of State has yet to verify the qualification of an applicant. The selection process will continue only when the verification is completed, she said.

"Due to the huge publicity, work at Suvarnabhumi has progressed slowly. I admit that we have to be thorough in everything to prevent bad publicity. Every day, I receive a letter from contractors, saying that they have not yet received the money for the work they have completed," she said.

However, Kulya said recently that she was not thinking about resigning, saying she was doing her best.

"Yet there are so many problems and I think my responsibility well surpasses my pay. To date, I earn the salary of a CFO, not president."

Meanwhile, Saprang also reportedly said that he would quit as AOT chairman.

However, both Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen and his deputy Sansern Wongcha-um said they did not acknowledge the report and had not even discussed the matter with Saprang.

Saprang said yesterday that if appointed the next Army commander-in-chief, he would quit chairmanship at all the state enterprises' board of directors he was serving.

-- The Nation 2007-09-04

[B-BOY]

That might explain ongoing mess at airport and appaling service at immigration...lets hope for best!

[peter991]

It wasn't necessary for Airports of Thailand (AOT) acting president Kulya Pakakrong to tender her resignation. All she had to do to improve things at Suvarnabhumi Airport is to take note of how Nepal Airlines solved their problems at Kathmandu Airport last week. I guess it's just a case of resigning rather thaqn being sacrificed.

A troubled Nepal Airlines plane was the reason behind the sacrifice of two goats at Kathmandu Airport last week, in an effort to appease the Hindu sky god Akash Bhairab.

The Boeing B757 in question had been believed to be suffering from some kind of technical issue, which had caused the state-run carrier to abort a number of services in the past few weeks.

Persisting problems saw the offering of the two goats on Sunday to Akash Bhairab in front of the Boeing, after which the plane successfully completed an international flight to Hong Kong, according to the carrier.

“The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights,” commented senior Nepal Airlines official Raju KC, reported Reuters.

Sacrificing goats to appease the gods is not unusual practice in Nepal. The Hindu god Akash Bhairab, to which the goat was sacrificed, also makes up the Nepal Airlines emblem.

Nepal Airlines has ten aircraft in its fleet, two of which are Boeings, and flies to 38 destinations, eight of which are international.

Peter