Suvarnabhumi Airport Will Open At End Of June Or Mid-july At The Latest

[Jai Dee]

Suvarnabhumi airport will open at end of June or mid-July at the latest

Suvarnabhumi Airport will commercially open at the end of June or by mid-July at the latest, and it will operate in the form of a single airport like most of its kind throughout the world.

Mr. Bancha Pattanaphorn (บัญชา ปัตตนาภรณ์), the Chief Director of Airports of Thailand Plc. (AOT), said that the government's dissolution of the Parliament is not affecting the construction of Suvarnabhumi Airport. He said the construction progress at the end of last year’s December through this January period reached 96%. Thus, the airport's opening will take place around the end of June, or in mid July at the latest.

The site will operate as a single airport, where flights both domestic and international will use its service. In the meantime point-to-point flights, small aircrafts and chartered flights will use Don Muang airport.

As for the airport usage fee, AOT will initially charge the earlier designated rates and will be raising them by around 10% in December this year. Even after the rate adjustment, Suvarnabhumi's Airport fees would still be less than those charged in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 28 Febuary 2006

[markuk]

usual Thailand related comment "will open" but maybe delay - why cant they stick to anything!!!

Its like definetaly but maybe comments that i hear all day long.

[tavarich]

Anyone know if the exit fee will remain at 500 Baht or will we be paying more.

[h90]

If I remember right, they wanted to open it SURE, 100 % guarantee, promised.....

last year and I think the year before also....

So now they'll open this July or maybe 2007 or so or approx...

sure, maybe.....

And if not, the foreign companies are the reason......

usual Thailand related comment "will open" but maybe delay - why cant they stick to anything!!!

Its like definetaly but maybe comments that i hear all day long.

[xbusman]

There are some pretty knowlegable people on this forum regarding airport ops but I would guess that if everything was done and working then certification would take a few months of testing. If they staff it in March or April they would have trouble landing in June or July. I am betting that it gets open in December, any takers out there?

[kurgen]

There are some pretty knowlegable people on this forum regarding airport ops but I would guess that if everything was done and working then certification would take a few months of testing. If they staff it in March or April they would have trouble landing in June or July. I am betting that it gets open in December, any takers out there?

I bet it's not before January

[Jai Yen Yen]

There are some pretty knowlegable people on this forum regarding airport ops but I would guess that if everything was done and working then certification would take a few months of testing. If they staff it in March or April they would have trouble landing in June or July. I am betting that it gets open in December, any takers out there?

I bet it's not before January

Who's gonna run a book on it?

I'll put 500 baht on Dec. 5th.

[ovenman]

Anyone know if the exit fee will remain at 500 Baht or will we be paying more.

The departure tax was said to be increased to 700 baht but it's been a while since I have heard anything about that so who knows what the status is of the proposed hike.

[Noel]

I wonder why there is no specific mention of the year in which it may open?

[singa-traz]

There are some pretty knowlegable people on this forum regarding airport ops but I would guess that if everything was done and working then certification would take a few months of testing. If they staff it in March or April they would have trouble landing in June or July. I am betting that it gets open in December, any takers out there?

I bet it's not before January

Who's gonna run a book on it?

I'll put 500 baht on Dec. 5th.

That's a good bet.

There is no way they can make it to the June/July timeframe. Wondering what story they will find this time to explain the delay.

[Axel]

Yes, December 5 came to my mind, as well. It is an auspicous day.

Do I have to predict th year?

[astral]

June - July is fine.

BUT it does not say which year.

Dec 5th does sound like a good date.

[Ricardo]

I wonder why there is no specific mention of the year in which it may open?

Or which decade, come to think of it ?

Does anyone know when the runway-surface renewal will be completed ?

[britmaveric]

Dec 5 what year????

[The Coder]

Why wasn't the new airport designed to handle domestic and intl? Don Muang handles both to this day. The new airport as of yet has not provisions to handle the A380, this while (old) airports around the world have already been retrofitted for it. I don't see any advantages and it seems a real inconvenience for passengers needing to connect between airports. Is this the biggest white elephant in the history of Thailand or am I missing something?

[Maejo Man]

Suvarnabhumi airport will open at end of June or mid-July at the latest

Suvarnabhumi Airport will commercially open at the end of June or by mid-July at the latest, and it will operate in the form of a single airport like most of its kind throughout the world.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 28 Febuary 2006

The keep on using the word "commercially" and stressing the word "single" Disturbing

[think_too_mut]

Why wasn't the new airport designed to handle domestic and intl? Don Muang handles both to this day. The new airport as of yet has not provisions to handle the A380, this while (old) airports around the world have already been retrofitted for it. I don't see any advantages and it seems a real inconvenience for passengers needing to connect between airports. Is this the biggest white elephant in the history of Thailand or am I missing something?

I could not find the source of that - that Suvarnabumi will handle only international transport.

What I read, small (i.e. BKK - Chumpon) aircrafts and charters stay at Don Muang. Those flights have no connection to major airlines anyway even today. I mean, baggage handling, single point for issuing boarding passes, immigration, etc.

[Jai Yen Yen]

I wonder why there is no specific mention of the year in which it may open?

Or which decade, come to think of it ?

Does anyone know when the runway-surface renewal will be completed ?

It'll be like "Painting the Forth Bridge"

(Non-Brits go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Bridge_(railway) )

[britmaveric]

BTW airlines still booking flights to BKK - why do I have the feeling when the new airport does open, everyone will be expecting to go to Don Muang and we will magically arrive at the new airport instead!

Edited February 28, 2006 by britmaveric

[Jai Dee]

Airport will be opened in July at the latest, said Pongsak.

Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal (พงษ์ศักดิ์ รักตพงษ์ไพศาล) insisted that the Suvarnabhumi International Airport will be completed before its opening schedule in late June.

Mr. Pongsak revealed after a meeting of officials on the Development of the Suvarnbhumi International Airport that the construction of the airport has made a lot of progress. He said that parts of the safety system still need to be installed, while the baggage scanning system is almost finished. He said that the construction of airport links is now 45% completed, adding that the work will be accelerated before the airport opens officially in June. He said that the airport will be opened in July at the latest.

As for calls by the Lat Krabang (ลาดกระบัง) Technology Institute for the officials to deal with problems of noise pollution, Mr. Pongsak said that the study by the Institute corresponds with the study by the IAEA; therefore, a budget of 21.4 billion baht will be allocated to the committee on the Development of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport to study and find preventive measures to deal with the problems.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 01 March 2006

[phibunmike]

BTW airlines still booking flights to BKK - why do I have the feeling when the new airport does open, everyone will be expecting to go to Don Muang and we will magically arrive at the new airport instead!

Sorry, off topic, but:

Many years ago I flew London - Beijing - London. Can't remember the airline, but usual type return, lets say outbound on ABC071 and return on ABC072. Left my car in the long term parking at Gatwick. Imagine my surprise when the return flight landed at Heathrow instead - the routing of that flight had been changed . Had to get the bus to Gatwick to collect my car...

[cclub75]

Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal (พงษ์ศักดิ์ รักตพงษ์ไพศาล) insisted that the Suvarnabhumi International Airport will be completed before its opening schedule in late June.

As usual it changes every week.

Check it out :

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/01Mar2006_news13.php

But now i start to understand : airport will be finished (the minister uses the word "open") in july.

And then, they will have 180 days of testing.

So the "commercial opening" could occur... well in january next year.

[Maejo Man]

''During the meeting, the prime minister asked who was confident the airport would open for commercial use on schedule in June, but no one answered,'' said a source from the panel, who requested anonymity.

Srisook Chandrangsu, president of Airports of Thailand, suggested the prime minister delay the opening after a report showed many parts of the construction were slightly behind schedule, the source said.

source Bangkok post 1/03

Who was the earlier poster that put is money on Dec 5th ? I'd say your bet is looking pretty good right now

[Johpa]

Why wasn't the new airport designed to handle domestic and intl? Don Muang handles both to this day. The new airport as of yet has not provisions to handle the A380, this while (old) airports around the world have already been retrofitted for it. I don't see any advantages and it seems a real inconvenience for passengers needing to connect between airports. Is this the biggest white elephant in the history of Thailand or am I missing something?

Since Thais hold the White Elephant (Chang Puak) in such high esteem I would expect Thailand to become the self-declared hub of white elephants. And certainly the new Suvarnabhumi Airport should rank high on the list of the largest white elephants in modern Thai history. But don't forget the newly proposed airport east of Chiang Mai out towards Samkampeng where the Shinawats are strong and well represented in land owneship.

We should indeed begin a list of other famous white elephants. My first nomination is my long time favorite, the HMS Chakri Naruebet, the Thai aircraft carrier patrolling the shallow pond known as the Gulf of Siam.

Chaiyo!

[sriracha john]

We should indeed begin a list of other famous white elephants. My first nomination is my long time favorite, the HMS Chakri Naruebet, the Thai aircraft carrier patrolling the shallow pond known as the Gulf of Siam.

During the recent visit of the King of Spain (Spain built the Chakri Naruebet), it came out that the ship is no longer a "aircraft carrier", but has been re-classified as a helicopter carrier as ALL the jump jets assigned to it are now inoperable.

The Hopewell fiasco gotta be in there with any list of white elephants... a row of monoliths not dissimilar to Stone Hedge.

Edited March 1, 2006 by sriracha john

[ovenman]

The Hopewell fiasco gotta be in there with any list of white elephants... a row of monoliths not dissimilar to Stone Hedge.

Does the Kra Canal project qualify as a vapour white elephant?

[sriracha john]

The Hopewell fiasco gotta be in there with any list of white elephants... a row of monoliths not dissimilar to Stone Hedge.

Does the Kra Canal project qualify as a vapour white elephant?

absolutely.... and it's listed right ahead of the bridge over the upper western coast of the Gulf of Siam...

[Jai Yen Yen]

...

As for calls by the Lat Krabang (ลาดกระบัง) Technology Institute for the officials to deal with problems of noise pollution...

Noise pollution? Thailand?

[ovenman]

There are some pretty knowlegable people on this forum regarding airport ops but I would guess that if everything was done and working then certification would take a few months of testing. If they staff it in March or April they would have trouble landing in June or July. I am betting that it gets open in December, any takers out there?

I have never read anywhere that the 180-day ICAO testing/certification period had begun (anybody know differently?). I don't see how June or July could be realistic either unless the ICAO, much like the United Nations, is not Mr. Big's father.

[Ricardo]

I think it would be a wonderful tribute to officially open the new airport on December 5th.

But would the politicians accept the resulting 6-month delay ?