Deputy Transport Minister Hints At Closing Don Muang Airport

[sriracha john]

The Chairman of The Airport of April 2006... as he returns in April 2008...

[Tony Clifton]

Are you sure that's not a doctored picture? I have the same Thaksin here moonlighting at the Suwarnabhumi KFC.

"No one touches the register but me!!!"

Edited March 19, 2008 by Tony Clifton

[misterman21]

Is there a theme developing here i.e New police chief closes bars - early; new enviornment minister closes street stalls - one day a week; new transport minister to close old airport -

What possibly next? new education minister to close schools ! new army general to start new conflict! I am sure they'll think of something

Edited March 19, 2008 by misterman21

[sriracha john]

The Chairman of The Airport of April 2006... as he returns in April 2008...

And now we go back into the archives and pull out the Chairman of The Airport of April 2002

The optimism of 2001 quickly came to a grinding halt for those with the foresight to see trouble on the horizon with this bozo.......

The quotes tell the whole story....

From...

Prime Minister Thaksin examines a model of the Suvarnabhumi airport terminal, which will cost 36.7 billion baht.

The year 2001 marked another milestone for Thailand's transport sector, as the passenger terminal and concourse of the long-awaited Suvarnabhumi International Airport finally got off the ground, raising hopes that the airport would be completed by the end of 2004.

The construction of the 36.67-billion-baht main passenger terminal and concourse started on Dec 1 and is expected to be finished in three years.

[jayjayjayjay]

fireproof glass panels , even though they were ordered following German standards, were made in Thailand and are sub-standard. He even obtained pictures of the fireproofing tests, not made in a lab but with glass panels on a metal rack sitting over an open fire outside somewhere, Thai style.

Tony fulla............ An Australian construction company Teasco (Thailand) might have a little to say about this. I know the people and company that processed this contract to completion and installed the glass for the airport. All done to spec and working properly.... All you are quoting is some idiotic news paper guy with unfounded qualifications. The photo you are talking about could have been anything, the guys were probably having a barbecue using the substanard pcs as a cooking plate. Who are you to judge........ boring, sometime tells me you really need to get a life or I can give you Gerry's number to clear this issue up for good!

[jrbkk64]

A few things:

1. over 75% of the AoT's staff is airforce, ex-airforce or related to airforce personnel and not necessarily qualified

2. ofcourse there are issues with BKK, like with any other major infrastructure project

3. some of the issues in 2. are due to corruption

4. DMK was only opened to discredit the Thaksin government and to boost the power (and income) of the airforce/military, nothing to do with problems at BKK

5. the current terminal can easily handle 50 million pax but that would require better management

6. the issue with long queues at immigration are mostly due to immigration being very inflexible in terms of staff scheduling

7. 2nd phase will consist of either a LCC terminal between the Thai hangar and the main terminal or a satellite terminal on the south side of the main terminal. (a train will connect the two, tunnel built already afaik.) LCC should take about 18 months to construct, satellite about 3-4 years.

[Tony Clifton]

fireproof glass panels , even though they were ordered following German standards, were made in Thailand and are sub-standard. He even obtained pictures of the fireproofing tests, not made in a lab but with glass panels on a metal rack sitting over an open fire outside somewhere, Thai style.

Tony fulla............ An Australian construction company Teasco (Thailand) might have a little to say about this. I know the people and company that processed this contract to completion and installed the glass for the airport. All done to spec and working properly.... All you are quoting is some idiotic news paper guy with unfounded qualifications. The photo you are talking about could have been anything, the guys were probably having a barbecue using the substanard pcs as a cooking plate. Who are you to judge........ boring, sometime tells me you really need to get a life or I can give you Gerry's number to clear this issue up for good!

Fulla what?

Watch it there... This can be discussed in a civilized manner.

By the way, maybe it wasn`t necessary to Mention Teasco and Gerry, yet... I believe both names were never mentioned on television by the said engineer.

1- Newspaper guy?? Have YOU seen the two Thai engineers in question delivering the results on television?

2- Do you know that they represent and are backed by the Engineering Association of Thailand when making such claims?

3-There was more than a photo, rather a whole series and YOU are assuming the installation you haven`t seen is a silly barbecue.

4- What percentage of the original airport design was hacked because of corruption? Figure that out while looking for a washroom next time.

Because an Australian company was involved it all went according to plan and specifications while the work was all done in Thailand?

Remember the CTX scanner scam? American company involved, nothing said on their part until it the scam got busted.

Remember the firetrucks that were supposedly made in Europe somewhere but assembled here?

All airport contracts done under the Thaksin govt. were corrupt. Find one that wasn`t. What the engineers can`t find right now is WHO IS RESPONSIBLE, they are running around in circles because no one at AOT and Suwarnabhumi is cooperating.

Remember the topic titled Corruption Probes, Ministers Won`t Point The Finger?

There is nothing from me to say to Gerry and he has nothing to say to me, I wasn`t the one making public declarations on television, rather an engineer. Maybe eventually some other people will want to discuss it with him and clear the issue soon though... Maybe he should enquire himself and see what it`s all about.

Have you even thought that maybe Gerry isn`t even aware if something went on behind his back? Or maybe not.

I`ll be glad to try and get the engineer`s name and phone number if you like.

Edited March 20, 2008 by Tony Clifton

[jayjayjayjay]

fireproof glass panels , even though they were ordered following German standards, were made in Thailand and are sub-standard. He even obtained pictures of the fireproofing tests, not made in a lab but with glass panels on a metal rack sitting over an open fire outside somewhere, Thai style.

Tony fulla............ An Australian construction company Teasco (Thailand) might have a little to say about this. I know the people and company that processed this contract to completion and installed the glass for the airport. All done to spec and working properly.... All you are quoting is some idiotic news paper guy with unfounded qualifications. The photo you are talking about could have been anything, the guys were probably having a barbecue using the substanard pcs as a cooking plate. Who are you to judge........ boring, sometime tells me you really need to get a life or I can give you Gerry's number to clear this issue up for good!

Fulla what?

Watch it there... This can be discussed in a civilized manner.

By the way, maybe it wasn`t necessary to Mention Teasco and Gerry, yet... I believe both names were never mentioned on television by the said engineer.

1- Newspaper guy?? Have YOU seen the two Thai engineers in question delivering the results on television?

2- Do you know that they represent and are backed by the Engineering Association of Thailand when making such claims?

3-There was more than a photo, rather a whole series and YOU are assuming the installation you haven`t seen is a silly barbecue.

4- What percentage of the original airport design was hacked because of corruption? Figure that out while looking for a washroom next time.

Because an Australian company was involved it all went according to plan and specifications while the work was all done in Thailand?

Remember the CTX scanner scam? American company involved, nothing said on their part until it the scam got busted.

Remember the firetrucks that were supposedly made in Europe somewhere but assembled here?

All airport contracts done under the Thaksin govt. were corrupt. Find one that wasn`t. What the engineers can`t find right now is WHO IS RESPONSIBLE, they are running around in circles because no one at AOT and Suwarnabhumi is cooperating.

Remember the topic titled Corruption Probes, Ministers Won`t Point The Finger?

There is nothing from me to say to Gerry and he has nothing to say to me, I wasn`t the one making public declarations on television, rather an engineer. Maybe eventually some other people will want to discuss it with him and clear the issue soon though... Maybe he should enquire himself and see what it`s all about.

Have you even thought that maybe Gerry isn`t even aware if something went on behind his back? Or maybe not.

I`ll be glad to try and get the engineer`s name and phone number if you like.

coz all your into is mud slinging, and it gets boring. You rarely have anything constructive to say. Your point is what? The Taksin government was corrupt, was lead by a corrupt leader, had corrupt ministers, had corrupt civil servants that were not caught.... Well, surprise surprise.......... sounds pretty much like all the Thai polictics I have seen first hand for the last 20 years and what has been going on since Moses died. As for your bringing up substandard construction. I am defending a friend who prides himself in working for reputable companies and personnally puts his quality principles into any job he is on. The glass and construction were up to standards set by the design team. The airport is standing, unlike a large segment of Charles De Gualle. A similar design collapse because of poor construction and that was not under Taksin's administration unless of course you can find and angle to make it....... which you will of course.

As for things that went on behind his back...... sure we all know that corruption goes on at high places. BUT Gerry would not let a constrution process proceed if he and/or his company beleived they were endangering the public. That is why i take your accusations personally as I am defending my friend and the quality of work they do!

Edited March 21, 2008 by jayjayjayjay

[lem]

Sounds good, let's hope that they can make it happen!

Why what is wrong with having two aiports?

Didn't they re-open Don Muang so the General's could recoup some of their losts income. Expect another coup detat if this goes ahead.........

Actually Don Muang is more convenient, but 2 airports anywhere are a real screwup. Paris/Orly what a stupid balls-up. London/Gatwick, who knows which way to go, where to stay etc....

So what is wrong with 2 airports! Well somehow Singapore and Hong Kong both have exceptional airports with capacity higer than Don Muang, AND they manage to do it in small island states with limited land area! Just coz you have plenty of land, which it not really the case in BKK, do you have to have 2 airports (unless of course your house is in RangSit or Laksii, in which case..... MOVE)

[lem]

The suggestion is to move from Laksi/Rangsit if you want to live closer to S'PUM airport.

I live on the Chao Phraya in Nonthaburi, very easy to access DM, but I'm buggered if I would move

to any area near S'PUM!! A little longer commute when travelling is no big problem. Without an airport

close by it's remarkably quieter too!!

[geaussie]

well the economically resposible thing would be to run the two airports, and through better slot management and arrangements of scheduals, make use of a pretty good second airport which has already been paid for.

But I was silly enough to think that they'd do the right thing once, and not even build the new airport. I was wrong. My guess is they'll continue with stage two, spending money that doesn't need to be spent.....

Sorry but disagree on the economics. It is more costly. You need a critical mass of employees and equipment to run both airports. One airport allows an economy of scale when it comes to jet aircraft. The airlines were in favour of the 2 airports at first because of the teething problems at BKK. I use BKK regularly now and the last time I used DM was in Dec. DM was too small to deal with the traffic increases so any talk of it being sufficient was hokum. BKK isn't that bad a place compared to alot of airports in the EU and North America and for all of the immigration problems, try flying into LAX JFK or LHR if you are not a passport holder of those nations. BKK is far more welcoming.

Recently flew into Tullamarine(Melbourne international airport)Suggest you bring packed lunch as it will take hours to clear customs.

[laocowboy2]

As with any governmental project, political short-termism gets in the way of efficiency. The problem is magnified if you have musical chairs cabinets and/or widespread corruption. It is probably already too late to prevent what is going to be a slow motion disaster at BKK as true maximum capacity is first reached and then exceeded.

I moved to Delhi a few months ago and face airport agony every time I travel as they are trying to handle rapidly growing passenger numbers while at the same time replacing the airport in-situ with new terminalks etc. Same immigration mess as well (not the airport's fault incidentally - iy is the Ministry of Interior that are responsible for immigration staffing in any country). We now have to plan on getting to the airport (hard in itself) three hours before take off.

[john b good]

Sounds good, let's hope that they can make it happen!

Why what is wrong with having two aiports?

Didn't they re-open Don Muang so the General's could recoup some of their losts income. Expect another coup detat if this goes ahead.........

Actually Don Muang is more convenient, but 2 airports anywhere are a real screwup. Paris/Orly what a stupid balls-up. London/Gatwick, who knows which way to go, where to stay etc....

So what is wrong with 2 airports! Well somehow Singapore and Hong Kong both have exceptional airports with capacity higer than Don Muang, AND they manage to do it in small island states with limited land area! Just coz you have plenty of land, which it not really the case in BKK, do you have to have 2 airports (unless of course your house is in RangSit or Laksii, in which case..... MOVE)

The scheduling mess that has been put together because of using 2 airports, particularly serving some of the up country destinations (many of them tourist centers) is terrible. It is a situation whereby thousands every day are shuttling across Bangkok, or having to overnight in Bangkok because of the terrible connections.

Not all roads lead to Bangkok. Getting to Bangkok for a morning meeting is a disaster for me (and I know of many other business people who are in the same boat). Getting out to Singapore is awful. It is costing Thai thousands every day to put up passengers who are missing connections. The logic of having one airport is very clear. Local hotels have been bitching and moaning for the last 6 months.

Problem is, logic would have dictated that they should have started extending SVB the minute it was opened. Prior to DMK reopening, I saw the people queuing out the front door, I have stood at the immigration lines for hours. I have seen the shopping mess. I have felt the heat of the inadequate a/c. I have seen the cracks in the floors. They could have made it perfectly, but no, it was just another corrupt mess.

Singapore has just opened it's 3rd terminal. The place is a pleasure to enter/leave and transit. Business and tourist passengers alike love it. SVB has improved, but still the lines at immigration are a disgrace, there are cracks all over the floor, the glass is covered in handprints, and wait till hot season standing in the economy check ins, it is going to be hot on the top floor. I am lucky and can use the lounges. There is no where to sit (unconfortably too), moving around the place is a joke (pillars everywhere), security is marginal, shopping is marginal, customs are aribtrary, taxis are a mess. The list is endless.

So please build another terminal, but how about privatising AOT completely, maybe Temasak can get it too and install the Singapore airport authority to run it.

Ya can't compare Singapore with Thailand. Since 1965 they have been "getting it right mostly first time every time"

Thats what you can achieve in a country where there is almost no corruption. Singapore is the 4th cleanest country in the world (in terms of corruption) and the cleanest in SE Asia by a country mile. Thailand is slotted in with about 10 other countries in 84th place.

[Plus]

Yet nine out of ten Singaporeans are stressed out, and they can't stand each other.

[Thai at Heart]

Sounds good, let's hope that they can make it happen!

Why what is wrong with having two aiports?

Didn't they re-open Don Muang so the General's could recoup some of their losts income. Expect another coup detat if this goes ahead.........

Actually Don Muang is more convenient, but 2 airports anywhere are a real screwup. Paris/Orly what a stupid balls-up. London/Gatwick, who knows which way to go, where to stay etc....

So what is wrong with 2 airports! Well somehow Singapore and Hong Kong both have exceptional airports with capacity higer than Don Muang, AND they manage to do it in small island states with limited land area! Just coz you have plenty of land, which it not really the case in BKK, do you have to have 2 airports (unless of course your house is in RangSit or Laksii, in which case..... MOVE)

The scheduling mess that has been put together because of using 2 airports, particularly serving some of the up country destinations (many of them tourist centers) is terrible. It is a situation whereby thousands every day are shuttling across Bangkok, or having to overnight in Bangkok because of the terrible connections.

Not all roads lead to Bangkok. Getting to Bangkok for a morning meeting is a disaster for me (and I know of many other business people who are in the same boat). Getting out to Singapore is awful. It is costing Thai thousands every day to put up passengers who are missing connections. The logic of having one airport is very clear. Local hotels have been bitching and moaning for the last 6 months.

Problem is, logic would have dictated that they should have started extending SVB the minute it was opened. Prior to DMK reopening, I saw the people queuing out the front door, I have stood at the immigration lines for hours. I have seen the shopping mess. I have felt the heat of the inadequate a/c. I have seen the cracks in the floors. They could have made it perfectly, but no, it was just another corrupt mess.

Singapore has just opened it's 3rd terminal. The place is a pleasure to enter/leave and transit. Business and tourist passengers alike love it. SVB has improved, but still the lines at immigration are a disgrace, there are cracks all over the floor, the glass is covered in handprints, and wait till hot season standing in the economy check ins, it is going to be hot on the top floor. I am lucky and can use the lounges. There is no where to sit (unconfortably too), moving around the place is a joke (pillars everywhere), security is marginal, shopping is marginal, customs are aribtrary, taxis are a mess. The list is endless.

So please build another terminal, but how about privatising AOT completely, maybe Temasak can get it too and install the Singapore airport authority to run it.

Ya can't compare Singapore with Thailand. Since 1965 they have been "getting it right mostly first time every time"

Thats what you can achieve in a country where there is almost no corruption. Singapore is the 4th cleanest country in the world (in terms of corruption) and the cleanest in SE Asia by a country mile. Thailand is slotted in with about 10 other countries in 84th place.

Thanks for telling me something we all already knew.

[khunandy]

I just flew my regular route from Khon Kaen to Hong Kong yesterday and once again cursed the current two airport policy. Took the 7.50 am from Khon Kaen to Dom Muang, due to the cross country trip I knew the chances of making the connection flight to HK would be too risky so I had booked the afternoon flight.

With time up my sleeve I decided to take the shuttle bus from Dom Muang to Swampypoon, advertised as air con and running at regular times, cheap at 34 baht.

At 9 am a pile of sh*t pulls up, filthy condition and no luggage facility, I am thinking that this is a great bit of kit for a world class airport hub shuttle bus. Anyway, it didn't faze me too much and I would take it again but I did feel sorry for the Cambodian Nun struggling with a lot of baggage then trying to control it in the aisle of the bus while the driver plays dodgem cars across town.

About an hour later we pull into Swampypoon..not a bad service apart from the filthy , old bus. Id rather pay up to 100 baht for a coach with under floor luggage compartments.

I had to wait 5 hrs for the flight to HK and this is when it always strikes home that this airport is nothing but a transit airport, they are dreaming if they think it is a hub, the budget terminal at Singapore has more comfort for the weary traveller and cheaper, more efficient services. Anyway, no need for comparisons.

Five hours with nowhere to sit but steel bus stop benches is a disgrace, and most of these are taken up by sleeping passengers too tired to worry about comfort. The place was hot yesterday as well, I looked at the ceiling extraction fans and noticed they were not working, the sahding cloth doesnt seem to be doing its job very well and if you like a smoke the aquariums are a good place to contemplate giving up the habit.

After an hour or two of aimlessly wandering around I ended up buying a foot massage for 500 baht/45 minutes just to relax in a comfy seat for a bit....the place is a bl**dy joke with no more atmosphere than a cattleyard.

Anyway that's their business, I just want to be in and out of the joint asap and to bring back domestic Thai Airways flights to Swampypoon would allow me to do just that.

Khun Andy

Edited March 26, 2008 by khunandy