Power Cut Causes Flight Delays At Both Suvarnabhumi And Don Mueang Airports

[theblether]

I reckon it just shows up how short sighted the Thai airport operators are, one little power cut shuts down the two Bangkok Airports.

Quite frankly it's a disgrace and indefensible.

[Aachen]

Because flight radar systems are centralized in Europe too, a failure would also be cutting down more than one airport. Just maybe the backups work better...

[PaullyW]

I am not excusing this screwup, but power blackouts occur at airports around the world and in the west,

Sept. 8, 2011, power blackout shut down SanDiego Airport for almost 12 hours. (Other airports also closed such as Yuma, AZ)

September 29 2011 power outage affecting runway lighting shut down Mexico City's international airport overnight , diverting dozens of flights. This is Latin America's busiest airport.

June 20, 2012 Ben Gurion Airport, Israel had to close for 20 minutes when power went out.

18 Mar, 2012, John Wayne Airport closed for an hour due to power blackout

23 May 2012 Mumbai shuts down for 1 hour due to power failure

30 July 2011 Power shutdown disrupts flights for almost 2 hours at Sydney's Airport

As I say, it's not an excuse, but it happens, more often than we think.

Well, I still think there are differences that won't prevent people from continuing to have fun with this thread.

Let's just look at the San Diego blackout.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/power-outage-affects-thousands-of-people-in-southern-california-arizona.html

quote from the article -

"San Diego International Airport, which handles about 300 flights daily, was operating on backup generator power and halted all outgoing flights, Rebecca Bloomfield, a spokeswoman"

So, the airport was in fact running on backup which means it was working. Not the case with Swampy.

quote from the article -

"The California National Guard was placed on alert, and the state’s Emergency Management Agency is on standby, said Jordan Scott, an agency spokesman."

I don't know if this level of interconnectedness exists in TH, but I would doubt it very highly.

There is also info about the connected nuclear systems and the shutting down and stabilizing of the wholesale energy market. So, it's not really the same as

"hey, our main power went out, then our back up generators wouldn't work, then the radar station or whatever didn't have staff there"

[swillowbee]

... this all sounds more as an operations and maintenance failure ... so very upsetting to hear this.

... God help this nation, because they are failing so horribly with developed world systems and technologies ... a nation of irresponsible, unaccountable children, really! ... this why I fly no Thai flagged air carriers.

... I really want to see what international regulatory agency will approve the licensing of a Thai owned and operated nuke!

Edited June 23, 2012 by swillowbee

[swillowbee]

Because flight radar systems are centralized in Europe too, a failure would also be cutting down more than one airport. Just maybe the backups work better...

.

... in modern countries, flight safety is generally considered in absolute terms, Aachen ... "Just maybe the backups work better"

Edited June 23, 2012 by swillowbee

[mca]

Speaking on a weekly programme on state-run television he said engineers tried to use a spare battery to maintain the power supply but could not prevent the thirty-minute loss of radar

"Because the engineers could only find an AA in the kitchen drawer and the system takes AAA" he added "By the time one of the engineers had gone home and got a couple from his TV remote the system was back up and running"

[slapout]

Thail's seem to have a reluctance to listen to others when it comes to, 'how to do/handle things'. This attitude does not seem to be conducive to learning via the experience/mistakes of others, where modern??? techonolgy is cercerned.

Thus this counties people have to learn from making their own mistakes. This will probably add very little to any potential learning curve, just due to the observation I made in the first paragraph.

[mca]

Thail's seem to have a reluctance to listen to others when it comes to, 'how to do/handle things'. This attitude does not seem to be conducive to learning via the experience/mistakes of others, where modern??? techonolgy is cercerned.

I feel that due to deep in the back of the minds of quite a few in Thailand they know there's not usually a punishment to fit the crime, (police murders swept under the carpet, unusual wealth, people dying from slack safety standards with no one made accountable, fake land deeds, the list is endless ) this encourages an air of complacency that permeates a lot of folks way of thinking.

A small example: Last week I stayed in a 3 star Thai owned hotel in Korat. As I used to be "in the trade" as it were whenever i stay somewhere I always have an eye on how they do things. I was in the lift and there was a lift safety certificate on the wall. Last inspected 2009. Fire extinguishers last inspected in 2007. What do they care? A foreigner, his wife and daughter die in a lift plunge or whatever will be off the front page in a couple of days and it's unlikely that any action will happen once a few palms have been greased in the right places.

Compare that to when I worked in western international chain managed places in BKK. The inspectors would come sniffing around on a regular basis looking for any discrepancies ( and asking for as much comp stuff as they could get ) . Keep looking dolts. All the international chain managed places I've worked at made it a cast iron certainty that the i's were dotted and the t's crossed. You knew that in the event of a power outage the back up gennies were going to kick in as sure as breathing. Any Thai DOE who couldn't manage even that simple task wasn't going to last long with a 30 days notice and "See ya"

Edited June 23, 2012 by mca

[h90]

Well done guys.

Now it's time to built a few nuclear power plants.

Yes, and lets built a underground train system when we have a flooding problem...another brilliant idea

what is the english name for such a train (I am no native speaker) submarine train? Is it called U96 and does it has torpedos?

And the army wanted to buy submarines....Did they want to stage a coup with them or replace the trains?

Edited June 23, 2012 by h90

[TheCure]

Thail's seem to have a reluctance to listen to others when it comes to, 'how to do/handle things'. This attitude does not seem to be conducive to learning via the experience/mistakes of others, where modern??? techonolgy is cercerned.

Thus this counties people have to learn from making their own mistakes. This will probably add very little to any potential learning curve, just due to the observation I made in the first paragraph.

Pretty much the definition of stupidity .

[Scott]

Off-topic posts have been deleted. Please stay on topic.

[bangkokbruce]

Well done guys.

Now it's time to built a few nuclear power plants.

Yes, and lets built a underground train system when we have a flooding problem...another brilliant idea

what is the english name for such a train (I am no native speaker) submarine train? Is it called U96 and does it has torpedos?

And the army wanted to buy submarines....Did they want to stage a coup with them or replace the trains?

It's called a subway, operated by electric trains. Bangkok calls it MRT.....you really need to get out more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok_Subway

[hawker9000]

Oh what a debacle the divided flight ops between Suv and Don Mueang is going to be. Expect more of these stories. (Just praying there aren't any accidents.)

[Payboy]

Local media reports said air traffic controllers used radios to guide planes manually during the radar blackout, which occurred after back-up power supply failed.

At least they didn't have to call for the back-up parking attendants and their whistles.

[KireB]

It's called a subway, operated by electric trains. Bangkok calls it MRT.....you really need to get out more http://en.wikipedia..../Bangkok_Subway

Subway is a sandwich shop, the MRT trains form a metro network!

[Wozzit]

A general airport blackout is not the same as radar systems going down. In such cases, the backup radar power system and a general airport emergency system should then kick in.

Re the BKK radar malfunction, the questions seem to be relatively simple.

1. When the radar blacked out at BKK, why did a back-up system not kick-in almost immediately?

2. Why did it take 58 minutes (according to the Bangkok Post) to identify the problem and restore power?

3. What regular drills and procedures are in place to train staff re what to do in the event of a sudden black-out? From reports, it would seem little or no such training is given.

4. Why is the radar at BKK linked to the radar at Don Mueang? Considering Don Mueang is an official alternate airport in the event of problems at BKK (a United flight from Tokyo was diverted there just a week ago), a wholly separate power system is clearly absolutely vital.

5. Why was the auxiliary power supply at Tung Mahamak unmanned?

Once these questions are answered, which Board members and officials will either resign or be fired?

And whilst we are at it, perhaps the AOT can tell us why it is necessary to close runways for 2 consecutive periods of 8 entire weeks for resurfacing? Is there any other 2-runway international airport in the world which requires actual closure of runways to wide-body jets for resurfacing for more than a few days - if that? Clearly much more than resurfacing is going on. Will someone enlighten us and tell us what is actually wrong with the runways?

[whybother]

Blackout at Melbourne Airport

Date July 18, 2012 - 10:09AM

Adam Cooper

Flights leaving Melbourne Airport were temporarily grounded because of a power outage, an airport source said.

Power came back on at 10.40am but there continues to be a backlog of passengers trying to check-in and get through security.

Airport spokeswoman Anna Gillett said the airport experienced a ''major power outage'' at 9.20am, although power in some terminals was quickly restored.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/blackout-at-melbourne-airport-20120718-22988.html#ixzz20vvWc25a

It happens at other airports too.

Edited July 18, 2012 by whybother

[londonthai]

yes, but was at terminals and not radar system, with airplanes in the air and risk involved with it.