Study to commence on creation of backup runway at Suvarnabhumi airport

[webfact]

Study to commence on creation of backup runway at Suvarnabhumi airport

BANGKOK, 13 September 2013 (NNT) – Transport Minister Chatchart Sitthiphan has established a working committee to consider the construction of a backup runway at Suvarnabhumi airport, to accommodate emergency situations.

Thai Airways International Plc. president Sorajak Kasemsuvan on Thursday met with Transport Minister Chatchart and officials from related agencies to discuss the 3-day closure of Suvarnabhumi airport's east runway, which came about after a Thai Airways aircraft skidded off the runway after landing and became lodged on the grass surface to the side of the runway, rendering the runway unusable.

According to Mr. Sorajak, the transport minister has established a working committee to gather the details of the incident and quickly rule on the cause of the event.

The working committee was told to come up with short- and long-term measures to make improvements following the incident, and present them to the ministry within 2 weeks. It was also tasked with the deliberation of the building of a third runway at the airport that would provide service in times of emergencies.

According to Mr. Sorajak, Thai Airways will propose that a holding room be built within the airport to accommodate passengers in times of emergencies, as this would boost workflow during emergencies.


-- NNT 2013-09-13

[laurentbkk]

They better work fast as the country will be the next Tourist hub , welcoming about 100 millions tourist in the next 6 months.

[Ricardo]

No need, as the construction to complete the third-runway was already announced, several months ago !

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/607506-new-court-case-over-suvarnabhumi-airport-expansion/?hl=%2Bsuvarnabhumi+%2Bthird+%2Brunway

and also the fourth runway, as well !

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/594454-airports-of-thailand-to-push-ahead-with-suvarnabhumi-expansion/?hl=%2Bsuvarnabhumi+%2Bthird+%2Brunway

Better to leave the funds, for this latest study, to be used to deliver the solutions already announced ?

[webfact]

After THAI incident, Suvarnabhumi Airport to get new runway
By English News



BANGKOK, Sept 13 – Heavy traffic at Suvarnabhumi Airport and Sunday's incident with a disabled Thai Airways International aircraft which closed a runway for three days compels the Airports of Thailand (AoT) to build a new runway as soon as possible.

Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt insisted that Suvarnabhumi Airport needs a third runway to ease traffic congestion and to be prepared for emergencies.

THAI flight TG679 from Ghangzhou skidded off Suvarnabhumi Airport's eastern runway Sunday night, forcing its closure until Wednesday night, causing delays to hundreds of flights.

Mr Chadchart said the new runway would not be longer than 3,000 metres following AoT’s recommendation that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) would be compulsory if it is longer than 3,000 metres.

However, AoT should conduct an EIA in conjunction with the construction, bearing in mind the possible impacts on people, he said.

Sita Divari, AoT board chairman, said AoT would strictly follow the Transport Ministry policy and would conduct an EIA during the construction.

He said the third runway would be reserved for emergency use.

AoT directors will discuss the matter Tuesday together with buildng a new runway for Phuket Airport, he said.

Marisa Pongpattanapun, chairwoman of the Airline Operators Committee (AOC), said the third runway is necessary to prevent landing and takeoff delays as much as possible.

The transport minister has appointed a fact-finding committee to investigate the THAI’s airbus A330-300 incident. It took 65 hours for the aircraft to be moved from the runway to a hangar.

The committee was instructed to submit its report within two weeks in order to find measures to effectively handle such an incident at all airports in the future.

The committee must find out whether passengers were transferred from the aircraft in accord with required procedures, whether the media crisis management including covering the THAI logo after the accident was appropriate, and whether the post-accident aviation management was correctly done. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2013-09-13

[Echo Tango]

Gee-wiz! Why didn't they build an ELS (emergency landing strip) when they built the airport? Generally, airports reinforce one or two of the taxiways during the construction of the airfield to handle departures and arrivals during an incident such as this. It always cost more to go back and build it right. I tried to look for the Jepp Charts to see if they have one at BKK, but, I'm assuming they don't, because they're talking about building an additional runway. As for the lighter aircraft, they could land on the current taxiways if airport operations will allow it.

[slapout]

I would think that between the manufactor of the plane involved, international aviation accident investigation, and then Thai airlinesa, there should be enough people milling around, qualified or not so, that additional committees (appointed by transport ministry) are not needed

[sjjmmi]

_{Better build 3 more just to be on the safe side then}

[eddie61]

and then off course there is the VIP wing...

[johnlandy]

They better work fast as the country will be the next Tourist hub , welcoming about 100 millions tourist in the next 6 months.

INCORRECT!! There is no way in he!! that there will be 100 million tourists p/a anytime soon (perhaps by the next millennium)

25% of that number would be closer to the mark.

Now if you were talking about passenger movements that would be more realistic particularly the way that Yingluck is traipsing around the world with her vast entourage.

Edited September 13, 2013 by johnlandy

[NongKhaiKid]

Oh good another potentially major construction project. Those at the trough will have their calculators out to work out what's in it for them.

[Bagwan]

Oh good another potentially major construction project. Those at the trough will have their calculators out to work out what's in it for them.

Including a veritable host of monks to ensure that evil spirits are sent on their way.

[drdoom6996]

Don't let Taksin or YL buy it. Runways have to be built to certain standards. And they have no standards except power and money. Especially power.

[Diablo Bob]

After reading this I went to Google Earth and guess what, looks like they started another runway sometime in the past.....

Looks like around 13,000 feet including taxiways. For some reason, a small section is missing, maybe too swampy. None the less looks around 75% in place.

But the committee wouldn't recommend this as an emergency runway, not enough money to siphon in comparrison to a "NEW" runway!

Edited September 13, 2013 by Diablo Bob

[bangon04]

Why not just fit all the ancient THAI 330s and 747s with extra big rubber wheels and train the THAI pilots to land on the grass, just like in their military training.....this would be no less absurd than the above announcement, which someone has already pointed out, has been announced several times before...

Anyway there is already a spare runway, it is called Don Mueang

Edited September 13, 2013 by bangon04

[boomerangutang]

I always liked Don Muang - though things slowed down a bit when it was under water. Poor Bangkok, it's got two airports, and both have flooding problems. Who is surprised (?), when the city is built on a river delta. Where is the nearest land mass, to Bkk, which is more than 2 meters above sea level? Perhaps that's where they should go - to relocate the city.

Mud is subsiding (in some places, 8 cm/yr), seas are rising. Not a good equation for investing trillions of baht for infrastructure - not counting the obligatory 32% which needs to go in to influential peoples' pockets.

Edited September 13, 2013 by boomerangutang

[yooper2001]

Didn't I read awhile back the Swampy airport is sinking. It was built in a wetlands and was a contributing factor in the 2012 flood. But what the heck go ahead and build it anyway it cannot be worse then the railroad, can it?

[Ricardo]

Only a few days ago, on 7th September, AOT-chairman Sitha Thiwaree said that the previously-announced second-phase expansion of Swampy, which includes completing the (part-built long ago, see post #13) third runway (to be used mainly in emergencies) is due for completion in December-2016.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/AOT-to-expand-capacity-at-six-airports-amid-touris-30214316.html

Perhaps someone should mention this to the Transport Minister sometime ?

Yay for the Poo-Yais, once again !

Edited September 13, 2013 by Ricardo

[MikeOboe57]

After reading this I went to Google Earth and guess what, looks like they started another runway sometime in the past.....

Looks like around 13,000 feet including taxiways. For some reason, a small section is missing, maybe too swampy. None the less looks around 75% in place.

But the committee wouldn't recommend this as an emergency runway, not enough money to siphon in comparrison to a "NEW" runway!

Swampy.jpg

Looks more like an abandoned 1st attempt at building the western runway. Lot of standing water and swampy terrain next to it.

edit: Thanks Ricardo, I stand corrected. It looks very messy still.

Edited September 13, 2013 by MikeOboe57

[puyaidon]

I taught management in a university here in the LOS and this place is not known for planning ahead of time. The new airport has been a lesson in how to avoid planning and creating more problems. Roads are built with no provisions for lighting, drainage, or proper concrete. Look at the expressways which were overcrowded before they even were in the final stages of construction. There are some smart people here but not high enough on the social register to make their voices heard.

[worgeordie]

Will the new runway have cracks and bumps like the old runways,

or will it be built properly this time.

regards Worgeordie

[Echo Tango]

After reading this I went to Google Earth and guess what, looks like they started another runway sometime in the past.....

Looks like around 13,000 feet including taxiways. For some reason, a small section is missing, maybe too swampy. None the less looks around 75% in place.

But the committee wouldn't recommend this as an emergency runway, not enough money to siphon in comparrison to a "NEW" runway!

Swampy.jpg

Yes, I agree. If they wanted to save money they could convert the unfinished runway into an 8000 ft. ELS that could handle an airplane the size of a 757 and smaller. That would take some pressure off of the active runway that’s being used for “Heavy,” traffic. I’m still wondering why this wasn’t designed into the airport before it was constructed………oh well.

[WAERTH]

I always liked Don Muang - though things slowed down a bit when it was under water. Poor Bangkok, it's got two airports, and both have flooding problems. Who is surprised (?), when the city is built on a river delta. Where is the nearest land mass, to Bkk, which is more than 2 meters above sea level? Perhaps that's where they should go - to relocate the city.

Mud is subsiding (in some places, 8 cm/yr), seas are rising. Not a good equation for investing trillions of baht for infrastructure - not counting the obligatory 32% which needs to go in to influential peoples' pockets.

Yawn ..... Schiphol airport is 3 meters below sealevel. Build in a former swamp, turned lake and then made drie. They do not seem to have these issues.

Subsiding land/mud/swamps most of the Netherlands is build on it. No real problem, it functions as long as you keep the standards up. Never understood these silly comments on Bangkok sinking etc. Just invest and build up to standards. That is the real problem here in Thailand btw. No standards. Not the sinking.

W

[MaxYakov]

Gee-wiz! Why didn't they build an ELS (emergency landing strip) when they built the airport? Generally, airports reinforce one or two of the taxiways during the construction of the airfield to handle departures and arrivals during an incident such as this. It always cost more to go back and build it right. I tried to look for the Jepp Charts to see if they have one at BKK, but, I'm assuming they don't, because they're talking about building an additional runway. As for the lighter aircraft, they could land on the current taxiways if airport operations will allow it.

Maybe the the budget was focused on the terminal, control tower and allegations of corruption ... and they they had to pay all those Buddhist monks (Wiki entry link below):

"The airport was due to open in late 2005, but a series of budget overruns, construction flaws, and allegations of corruption plagued the project.

A further delay was caused by the discovery that the airport had been built over an old graveyard, and superstitious construction workers claimed to have seen ghosts there. On 23 September 2005, the Thai airports authority held a ceremony where 99 Buddhist monks chanted to appease the spirits^."

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

Edited September 13, 2013 by MaxYakov

[lee b]

Why has an airport of this size not already got a backup runway?

[Muhendis]

Suvarnabhumi airport already has an emergency contingency plan. It was intended that the airport near Pattaya should serve this purpose. I guess they must have forgotten this in the rush to donate more money to building a new runway which already (nearly) exists.

[bkk_mike]

The airport was designed to end with 4 runways and a second terminal.

They built the first two runways and the main terminal to date.

i.e. They already own the land that they have always intended to put the 3rd and 4th runways onto, so why not just start work on one of those earlier than planned. (After all, if you have to build a 3rd runway, you might as well just build the one you were planning on building anyway...)

This isn't Heathrow - there won't be 30 years of planning delays before NOT building it after a public enquiry. There may well be 30 years of planning delays before NOT building it, but it will be because it will take someone that long to siphon off all the money.

[Echo Tango]

Suvarnabhumi airport already has an emergency contingency plan. It was intended that the airport near Pattaya should serve this purpose. I guess they must have forgotten this in the rush to donate more money to building a new runway which already (nearly) exists.

Pattaya? That doesn't seem like a very good plan. What about the aircraft originating from BKK? Without an ELS, there will always be late departures and cancelations with this type of incident because of the lack of runways.

[boomerangutang]

I always liked Don Muang - though things slowed down a bit when it was under water. Poor Bangkok, it's got two airports, and both have flooding problems. Who is surprised (?), when the city is built on a river delta. Where is the nearest land mass, to Bkk, which is more than 2 meters above sea level? Perhaps that's where they should go - to relocate the city.

Mud is subsiding (in some places, 8 cm/yr), seas are rising. Not a good equation for investing trillions of baht for infrastructure - not counting the obligatory 32% which needs to go in to influential peoples' pockets.

Yawn ..... Schiphol airport is 3 meters below sealevel. Build in a former swamp, turned lake and then made drie. They do not seem to have these issues.

Subsiding land/mud/swamps most of the Netherlands is build on it. No real problem, it functions as long as you keep the standards up. Never understood these silly comments on Bangkok sinking etc. Just invest and build up to standards. That is the real problem here in Thailand btw. No standards. Not the sinking.

W

The Dutch do things differently from the Thais. The Dutch were at the vanguard of grinding grain to flour using wind power - hundreds of years ago.

[sabai-dee-man]

Gee-wiz! Why didn't they build an ELS (emergency landing strip) when they built the airport? Generally, airports reinforce one or two of the taxiways during the construction of the airfield to handle departures and arrivals during an incident such as this. It always cost more to go back and build it right. I tried to look for the Jepp Charts to see if they have one at BKK, but, I'm assuming they don't, because they're talking about building an additional runway. As for the lighter aircraft, they could land on the current taxiways if airport operations will allow it.

Wow! With the greatest of respect, you really are are newbie, aren't you.

Please don't come 'round here with your logic! There is no logic in Thailand... in fact, I'm not sure there's even a direct translation for "logic" in Thai. I think the closest is "farang bha"!

Sabai Dee Man.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Subsiding land/mud/swamps most of the Netherlands is build on it. No real problem, it functions as long as you keep the standards up. Never understood these silly comments on Bangkok sinking etc. Just invest and build up to standards. That is the real problem here in Thailand btw. No standards. Not the sinking.

I think government agencies here do actually have standards, at least on paper sometimes. But they just don't actually build anything that keeps to the standards they have, because of graft, corruption and shoddy execution. In the end, that mixture most likely means that anything that does get built will be poorly done and ultimately won't perform well.

Do we really expect the Thai government to successfully stop Bangkok's long-term sinking via the required huge capital works projects, when they can't even lay down sidewalk paver tiles that don't get undermined and broken up in a matter of months? Or for that matter, build airport runways that don't crack and subside before their warranty has even expired?

Edited September 14, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK