Suvarnabhumi Airport Eastern Runway Will Be Closed 60 Days For Maintenance

[apetley]

Runway repaving as well as maintenance/repairs is common and the more the runway is used the more often it will be repaved. In this case, it is more about improvements since the airport is handling more capacity than it currently was built. But even so, repairs and maintenance has little to do with time but rather use. The more busy the runway the more repairs needed (just like a road, especially when it comes to travel by trucks & buses). Keep in mind BKK is not only one of the busiest airports in the world (16th in 2011 / 5th so far in 2012) but also only has 2 runways.

Gatwick airport London is the worlds busiest civilian single runway airport in the world.

There is a take off and landing just about every minute of the day.

It is resurfaced every 11 or 12 years.

During the resurfacing the airport remains open. It's all the result of planning!

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Lets make this simple ....

30 May 2012 Around 1,500 airline passengers were forced to land at the wrong airports today as fog and

emergency repairs forced Gatwick to shut their main runway

.

Read more:

http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1xCWnk0Xm

I would not take anything the Daily Mail puts in print as gospel. The are there to sell papers. 'Emergency repairs' is a scare headline designed to attract attention. Gatwicks own spokesman in the DM article even says the maintainence was scheduled.

In the interest of balance if you go to airport coordination website you will find this was scheduled maintainence as is that listed for later in the year.

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[edwinchester]

Runway repaving as well as maintenance/repairs is common and the more the runway is used the more often it will be repaved. In this case, it is more about improvements since the airport is handling more capacity than it currently was built. But even so, repairs and maintenance has little to do with time but rather use. The more busy the runway the more repairs needed (just like a road, especially when it comes to travel by trucks & buses). Keep in mind BKK is not only one of the busiest airports in the world (16th in 2011 / 5th so far in 2012) but also only has 2 runways.

Gatwick airport London is the worlds busiest civilian single runway airport in the world.

There is a take off and landing just about every minute of the day.

It is resurfaced every 11 or 12 years.

During the resurfacing the airport remains open. It's all the result of planning!

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Lets make this simple ....

30 May 2012 Around 1,500 airline passengers were forced to land at the wrong airports today as fog and

emergency repairs forced Gatwick to shut their main runway

.

Read more:

http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1xCWnk0Xm

Simple question.

What's your take on an airport runway, only 6 years old, that needs to be closed for several months for repairs that sees less use than Londons second airport that lasts twice as long between routine maintainence?

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[IAMHERE]

"He further stated that coordination has been made with other airports in the country should any airplane needs an emergency landing."

What you wanna bet no coordination was done with immigration to let the passengers into the country. Of course no baggage handling is included in coordination either. Sure, the plane will land and the passengers will be kept hostage onboard till at least one dies.

[Nisa]

Runway repaving as well as maintenance/repairs is common and the more the runway is used the more often it will be repaved. In this case, it is more about improvements since the airport is handling more capacity than it currently was built. But even so, repairs and maintenance has little to do with time but rather use. The more busy the runway the more repairs needed (just like a road, especially when it comes to travel by trucks & buses). Keep in mind BKK is not only one of the busiest airports in the world (16th in 2011 / 5th so far in 2012) but also only has 2 runways.

Gatwick airport London is the worlds busiest civilian single runway airport in the world.

There is a take off and landing just about every minute of the day.

It is resurfaced every 11 or 12 years.

During the resurfacing the airport remains open. It's all the result of planning!

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

Lets make this simple ....

30 May 2012 Around 1,500 airline passengers were forced to land at the wrong airports today as fog and

emergency repairs forced Gatwick to shut their main runway

.

Read more:

http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1xCWnk0Xm

Simple question.

What's your take on an airport runway, only 6 years old, that needs to be closed for several months for repairs that sees less use than Londons second airport that lasts twice as long between routine maintainence?

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I think you restate your question because it makes it difficult to answer a question that is based on falsehood ...

Notice from the following link you won't find Gatwick on the list but you will find BKK on this list of most take off and landingshttp://www.aci.aero/...212-231_666_2__ for 2012

And from the link (http://en.wikipedia....rt#2000_onwards) you can see Gatwick as having just over 250,000 landing/take-offs for all of last year while BKK saw 300,000 (see: http://en.wikipedia....nabhumi_Airport) . Not to mention more than 14 Million more passengers that traveled through BKK meaning either more planes or bigger and heavier ones.

And finally, there is NO mention of anything in the OP of anything being broken or the use of the word "repair" .. what the do state is they are making the runway thicker and what we do know as common knowledge is the airport has exceeded its capacity due to substantial increases in tourism both domestic and foreign prior to the planned next phase of construction.

Edit: You should also know that Gatwick main runway is closed for 9-months every night except Sunday (9:30 pm to 5:30 am) while they "repair" (as you say) their runway. Planes during bad weather will not be able to land there during this time because the emergency runways being used in its place don't have lights and such as the main runway does.

So, to answer your question, I don't think too much about it but know there are different circumstances from land to weather to traffic that effects maintenance and as long as I am not being diverted to other airports or put out because of it, I don't care.

Edited June 8, 2012 by Nisa

[apetley]

From the op

"despite the efforts from the airport technical staff in maintaining the integriry of the taxiway in the past, the surface has become slightly eroded"

In laymans terms even you can understand it needs repair.

If you are going to quote takeoff and landings for BKK airport quote them for the runway in question not the airport as a whole.

The runway in question has averaged about 680 takeoff and landings a day.

Gatwick with its single runway is between 650 and 750 a day. Sometimes getting close to 900 takeoff and landings a day.

Being charitable to Swampies eastern runway the usage is broadly comparable.

I ask again, how come Gatwick lasts twice as long as BKKs eastern runway?

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Edited June 8, 2012 by apetley

[MikeOboe57]

The timing is excellent - summer holidays in most European countries. They could easily have done this in the low season, but it looks like the repair was overdue and a threat by aviation safety to close the runway was imminent.

1. It is the low season.

2. Please explain how you come to this conclusion ("but it looks like the repair was overdue and a threat by aviation safety to close the runway was imminent") because I don't see anything to suggest this was anything other than routine maintenance?

1. You are right. However it is high season in Europe which means a lot of heavyweight aircraft (fully booked) will land onto and depart from BKK.

2. The NOTAM dates from 08th June 2012. This does not look like a long term planned maintenance.

http://www.ourairpor...pilot-info.html

TEMPORARILY PARTIAL RWY01R/19L CLSD DUE MAINT DETAILS ARE AS FLW:

1. RWY01R OPR AS NON-INSTRUMENT RWY

1.1 TRAFFIC PERMITTED : LANDING ONLY

1.2 WEATHER CONDITION : VMC

1.3 OPR HR : SUNRISE TO SUNSET

1.4 PAPI : ACTIVATED

1.5 DECLARED DISTANCES (M) ARE AS FLW

LDA : 1775M

TORA : NOT USABLE

TODA : NOT USABLE

ASDA : NOT USABLE

2. RWY19L OPR AS NON-INSTRUMENT RWY

2.1 TRAFFIC PERMITTED : TAKEOFF ONLY

2.2 OPR HR : 24HRS

2.3 PAPI : INACTIVATED

2.4 DECLARED DISTANCES (M) ARE AS FLW

TORA : 2000M

TODA : 2550M

ASDA : 2000M

LDA : NOT USABLE

So 60 days no instrument landings and takeoffs and night flying on that runway, and - depending on the wind - either takeoffs or landings only. Then no 747s or similar (Apch Cat D) on that runway. The difference between LDA and TORA indicates that they include the overrun for takeoffs.

No flights at night and in instrument weather conditions. Good luck with handling traffic under these restrictions.

edit: typo

Edited June 8, 2012 by MikeOboe57

[Nisa]

From the op

"despite the efforts from the airport technical staff in maintaining the integriry of the taxiway in the past, the surface has become slightly eroded"

In laymans terms even you can understand it needs repair.

If you are going to quote takeoff and landings for BKK airport quote them for the runway in question not the airport as a whole.

The runway in question has averaged about 680 takeoff and landings a day.

Gatwick with its single runway is between 650 and 750 a day. Sometimes getting close to 900 takeoff and landings a day.

Being charitable to Swampies eastern runway the usage is broadly comparable.

I ask again, how come Gatwick lasts twice as long as BKKs eastern runway?

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Again, you ask a false question. The runway is being upgraded. There is no mention in the OP of it failing as being the reason for this upgrade/maintenance. And please if you are going to quote stats, at least share the link.

And lastly, I already answered this question in your other false question.

[dazk]

Did swampy ever get its safety cert after it was denied in 2007 or do they still not recognise international standards so are not worried about getting it

[Ricardo]

If the runway-upgrade at Swampy isn't that urgently-needed after-all, why not just complete the third-runway as part of the airport-expansion currently underway, and then close the Eastern-runway at-nights for the planned-maintenance ?

The current rush does therefore suggest that AoT are unable to wait for another couple-of-years, for some reason. Or perhaps that the long-planned expansion has been left too long, to be started, in time to avoid this problem ?

IIRC, there was some mirth several years ago, suggesting that the airport-designers had over-specified the runways, to meet the international-standards required to cope with colder operating-conditions, where freezing-temperatures and ice/snow cause more damage.

But now we see that the international-Lite standard then-specified for Swampy may be holding-up, for only half the time which might have been expected from a full-international-standard runway. Or perhaps someone may accidentally have cut corners, on the materials-specifications or materials-supplied, for constructing the first stage of the airport ? Which could only have been an "honest mistake".

[ginjag]

Lets forget Gatwick, and forget "we were in the car within 30 mins" Nisa your on a Thai roll again. The fact is this runway should be mega maintenance free for 11 years. Why rebuf the facts, as I stated earlier cheap and quick built with substandard foundations, on really wrong type of land. Nisa why was the safety certificate denied ???? 2007 any answers. Again NOT knocking Thailand but what your looking at is early work being carried out that NORMALLY wouldn't need. and why for gods sake if it wasn't much do they need all this time to do a simple job, as you say it's NOT major repairs, or your led to believe that.