Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport Runway Repairs Delay 100 Flights Daily

[webfact]

Thailand's airport gateway runway repairs delay 100 flights daily

BANGKOK, June 20 -- The first week of runway repairs at Thailand’s primary international gateway – Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport -- delayed some 104 flights every day with an average delay of 20-30 minutes for each flight, the president of Airports of Thailand (AoT) said on Wednesday.

Assessing the first week of runway maintenance at the country’s main international airport, President Anirut Thanomkulbutra reported that the repairs caused 104 of the 825 daily flight delays, or approximately 12.6 per cent with 20-30 minute delay on average as projected earlier.

The AoT president assured the public that the runway repairs are expected to be completed and meet the Aug 9 deadline.

A 1.6km section of the eastern runway has been closed for repairs since June 11.

Meanwhile, AoT has coordinated with related agencies to set up operations centres at the airport terminals to provide services and facilitate passengers around the clock until the maintenance is completed. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-06-20

[Ricardo]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

[mrclough]

Flew out of swampy yesterday. The delays nearly made me crazy! Five minutes!!!! Tell ya, it's bad lol!!!!!!

Be glad when my carrier of choice moved back to good old Don Mueang.

It's a far more convenient airport for getting in & out of town in my opinion.

[Bagwan]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

It's not all bad news. Swampy does have the tallest control tower in these parts - thanks to you know who.

[swillowbee]

... with reports that up to 30% of the total costs of Suvarnabhumi Airport were corruptly pocked, compromises needed to be made ... world class alright ... up there with Sicily International Airport.

... a recognized authoritative ranking of international airports is published by SkyTracks ... Suvarnabhumi was simply incapable of rising to the standard other new airports achieved ... it's rankings:

• 2009 - #16
  
• 2010 - #10
  
• 2011 - #13
  
• 2012 - #25
  

... with an unlimited public pocketbook, all the available world-class consultants at their disposal, a wealth if experienced international contractors, and the absolute latest aviation technology available to them, this is the best the Thai culture can produce.

... everything a person needs to know about doing business in Thailand is encapsulated in this single story.

Edited June 20, 2012 by swillowbee

[Reasonableman]

Read my lips... no delays...

When is a perceived/experienced delay not a real delay? Time to bring on the statistics, again!!

[Ricardo]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

It's not all bad news. Swampy does have the tallest control tower in these parts - thanks to you know who.

Not that the control-tower is in-any-way a phallic-symbol, of course ...

[MaxLee]

Just when the Western holiday period starts, TAT f******s up big mess.

[edwinchester]

I'm confused.

The runway needs major repairs after less than 6 years of use but no mention of the initial contractors being held accountable.

Or am I missing something?

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

[MAN2SIN2BKK]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

I thought the 3rd runway was already under construction. If you google Swampy there is a whole load of works next to the western runway

[otherstuff1957]

Does anyone remember how the runways started cracking almost as soon as they were built? Does anyone remember how the media was muzzled with lawsuits when they reported this? Does anyone remember the whistleblower whose career was ruined when he wrote about this?

Does anyone remember who was PM when this all happened and who was the driving force behind all of the above?

[h90]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

It's not all bad news. Swampy does have the tallest control tower in these parts - thanks to you know who.

Not that the control-tower is in-any-way a phallic-symbol, of course ...

So we had luck that Thaksin built it. What would be the design if Yingluck would have built it?

[edwinchester]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

It's not all bad news. Swampy does have the tallest control tower in these parts - thanks to you know who.

Not that the control-tower is in-any-way a phallic-symbol, of course ...

So we had luck that Thaksin built it. What would be the design if Yingluck would have built it?

Who knows but I'm sure all the bare concrete walls would have a tasteful Burberry colour scheme:-)

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

[E1717007]

precisely why my Thai friend advised me to fly sin-kl-cnx instead of sin-bkk-cnx weeks ago

[Rama]

A friend of mine that flies in and out of BKK on a regular basis, said he looked at the runway under repair when he flew in last week and no one was working on it. Closed - but no one working. You'd think they'd be working on it 24 hours a day to get it completed as soon as possible.....but they only do that when they're putting up a new condo/office building next to where you live.....tit

[ginjag]

H90 #12 "If Yingluck would have built it" It would have been the same, same rake off, same companies family and cronies, but over the phone, and she would skip meetings, to go on shopping and walkabout, photo sessions, and English school.

[MaxnMin]

This airport is in with other 3 star airports...its not 5 star at all despite all the hype but what do you expect for a developing country? By the way ,the expression developing country is a euphanism for undeveloped

[Ricardo]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

I thought the 3rd runway was already under construction. If you google Swampy there is a whole load of works next to the western runway

Yes, but the point is that the very-early resurfacing of the first runway was not delayed, until the completion of the third one. Then Swampy might have continued normal operations, with two active-runways, while the first one (and later the second ?) was repaired.

I cannot myself confirm that the third runway construction is actually underway yet, but seem to recall that foundation-work in-preparation had been carried-out, some time ago ? That would explain landfill, to the West of the current western-runway, which I've noticed on previous visits, but I could be totally wrong on this. I'm not an airport engineer, just an interested user, and observer.

And it's fairly obvious that, had the LCC-terminal (which was announced a few times over the past several years) actually been built, then there would now be absolutely no need to transfer any services to DMK. The blame for this expensive/wasteful cock-up carries across all the recent governments, as well as AoT, for failing to carry out sensible continuing-development of the vaunted new 'Asian Hub'.

[Payboy]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

It's not all bad news. Swampy does have the tallest control tower in these parts - thanks to you know who.

You mean the one from which Rapunzel let her hair down to let the yellow princes in?

[rotary]

Sounds like a good reason to shut Swampy down and let nature take back over with spiders and snakes Then build another airport named...........Kickbackaphum.

[KireB]

We circled over Bangkok for more than 45 minutes last week! Amazing!

[Screws]

I thort the poo would have hardened by now.

[burtie80]

Oh great! I am flying there next week

[lomatopo]

http://www.flightstats.com/go/Airport/airportScorecard.do?airportCode=BKK

I like SBIA, think it is definitely world-class and like the design. Definitely heaps better than airports in my home country. I have ~ 55 arrivals+departures, including flying out the first day it opened. I can't ever remember a single delay attributable to the airport or its operation.

Delays are challenging to quantify without rigorous examination of the entire flight history, but things don't look overly bad right now. We've been fortunate with the weather, somewhat. I sort of assumed there was some slot management occurring, meaning that flights could not depart until they had a slot at SBIA, given the cost of JetA, and the incremental cost of carrying extra fuel. KireB's report would seem to shoot a hole in that theory

[Nigel1500]

What's wrong with those pilots? Can't they drive around the pot holes like the rest of us?

[dude007]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

Find the explanation in the corruption strived government of Thaksin when Suvarnabhumi airport was constructed at two times the normal price...

The dry fill was carried out from borrow pits all belonging to TRT politicans who asked incredible prices per m3 of soil for reclaiming the swamp-area of the actual airport (Nong Ngu Hao). Certificates of quality soil were fabricated and low quality sand was used for the 4 meters high reclamation of the airport. Right from the start there were already problems with excessive settlements in some parking areas and now it produces even at the runways. I am not surprised to hear this and I believe that it is surely not the end of the problems...

[sjjmmi]

Sounds like a good reason to shut Swampy down and let nature take back over with spiders and snakes Then build another airport named...........Kickbackaphum.

[bigbamboo]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

It's not all bad news. Swampy does have the tallest control tower in these parts - thanks to you know who.

Not that the control-tower is in-any-way a phallic-symbol, of course ...

So we had luck that Thaksin built it. What would be the design if Yingluck would have built it?

Even more shops....?

Then again Swampy has already been described as Thailand's most expensive shopping centre..... with aeroplanes around it.

Edited June 20, 2012 by bigbamboo

[johnlandy]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

I would hope to hell that the runways would have lasted at least 20 years & not a little over 5 years.

The shonky work wouldn't have anything to do with the mad panic to get it finished to keep Thaksin happy 'or perhaps rampant the corruption that is endemic here'

Probably only 50% of the specified amount of cement went into the mix as well.

TIT

[Babcock]

Such a pity the new runways only lasted half their expected-life, before requiring this resurfacing, and that the 3rd-runway & low-cost-carrier terminal wasn't built, in time to avoid this mess, and the consequent need to try to transfer flights to Don Muang.

Find the explanation in the corruption strived government of Thaksin when Suvarnabhumi airport was constructed at two times the normal price...

The dry fill was carried out from borrow pits all belonging to TRT politicans who asked incredible prices per m3 of soil for reclaiming the swamp-area of the actual airport (Nong Ngu Hao). Certificates of quality soil were fabricated and low quality sand was used for the 4 meters high reclamation of the airport. Right from the start there were already problems with excessive settlements in some parking areas and now it produces even at the runways. I am not surprised to hear this and I believe that it is surely not the end of the problems...

Why don't you boys go and check out the facts before just quoting harf assed propoganda.

Here's a good place to start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suvarnabhumi_Airport

try spinning this!