Airport's Aircraft Parking Bays And A Taxiway Closed For Repairs

[sriracha john]

SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT DEFECTS FOUND

Parking bays and taxiway closed for repair

Less than a month after Suvarnabhumi airport went into full operation, three of its aircraft parking bays and a taxiway had to be closed for repair as they became uneven due to cracked tarmac. Airport general manager Somchai Sawasdeepon said yesterday that the temporary closure since Saturday was necessary at the E2, 4 and 6 parking bays and the T13 taxiway due to their uneven surface. Tarmac in those areas would be replaced before they were put back in normal service this Saturday, he said. Airport staff are investigating to find the real cause. hmmm... shoddy work with shoddy materials for more profit-making perhaps? Mr Somchai assumed that the seams between the taxiway tarmac and the adjacent parking bays may have cracked and let rainwater seep in. This may have resulted from heavy downpours, or the partial removal of flood dykes at the airport may have allowed water from a nearby canal to seep into the tarmac, Mr Somchai said. A source at the Airports of Thailand said small cracks have appeared for a length of over 100 meters along the T13 taxiway leading to the E2, 4 and 6 parking bays.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/25Oct2006_news03.php

[johnh101]

Ha ha.........The runways are not waterproof !

[Big A]

Typical!!

[cclub75]

Well the problem is : they close parking bays.

It means more planes with insane travel in bus, on arrival...

[Losangels]

No big deal cracks happen on newly constructed highways, buildings, condos, apartments, hospitals, etc.. all the time. Gives construction crew some work to do than to be unemployed

[Rinrada]

Helps to dissipate any excess water during the rainy season..sort of inbuilt drainage...

just as long as the jumbo jets wheels dont get stuck in them on take off or landing .. then ...TIT ...mprai

[rogerdee123]

Because of the cracks etc ...

AOT will probably decide to land the planes at Don Muang and then carry passengers by bus to Suvarnabhumi to go thru immigrations and customs.

[Losangels]

Because of the cracks etc ...

AOT will probably decide to land the planes at Don Muang and then carry passengers by bus to Suvarnabhumi to go thru immigrations and customs.

.......and shop at the monopoly duty free shops, use the limited toilet facilites and haul all of them back to retrieve their luggages at Don Muang which has a better luggage conveyer belt

[bkkandrew]

Because of the cracks etc ...

AOT will probably decide to land the planes at Don Muang and then carry passengers by bus to Suvarnabhumi to go thru immigrations and customs.

Ssshhh! Don't say that! They may actually see your post and come up with it as an idea, given some of their other recent brainwaves!

[cclub75]

Bingo.

They've found cracks on another taxiway... That leads to concourse B.

Parking bays E2, 4 and 6 are closed already. Other to be closed ?

But mai pen rai, Somchai, general manager says : "'I guarantee that this will not affect service because 69 remote parking bays can be used." !

We have a super new airport... But we will have to use the remote parking bays and those bloody buses....

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/26Oct2006_news03.php

[britmaveric]

Back to the cracks again??? You have to love these lads - I just pray to buddha that smth unsafe doesnt happen because of bad construction and poor design.

[bkkandrew]

Back to the cracks again??? You have to love these lads - I just pray to buddha that smth unsafe doesnt happen because of bad construction and poor design.

Yes - I am taking off in a few hours!!!

[britmaveric]

Back to the cracks again??? You have to love these lads - I just pray to buddha that smth unsafe doesnt happen because of bad construction and poor design.

Yes - I am taking off in a few hours!!!

Paris airport roof collapse kills five.

However, cracks and falling dust had been observed just before the accident, said an airport spokesman.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3739715.stm

[udon]

Another prime example as to why you should have a qualified person present while you home's concrete foundations are poured.

[sriracha john]

To borrow an advertising slogan as a pun to describe the airport's woes... "When it rains, it pours"

Another taxiway has 'water infiltration'

Problems continue at Suvarnabhumi airport

Problems at Suvarnabhumi airport continue as officials have found the surface of another taxiway is uneven due to water infiltration through its cracked tarmac. Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Somchai Sawasdeepon said that more cracks and uneven spots were discovered in three places on the taxiway leading to concourse building B. The defects add to those earlier found on taxiway T13 and the E2, 4 and 6 bays which have been closed for repairs since last week.

Officials initially pointed to rainwater left on the tarmac which had gradually seeped into the cracked asphalt-paved surface as the cause of the problem. That can be repaired with new paving, Mr Somchai said ITO Joint Venture, the airport contractor, will mend the taxiways. Mr Somchai said a possible cause of the problem was that taxiways had been completed as long as two years before the airport was opened on Sept 28. After being completed, they had been left unused long enough to deteriorate, he said. Aviation Department director-general Chaisak Angkhasuwan said the cracks found did not show the airport construction was substandard. He assumed the mix of tarmac might have included water and so the surface could crack later. I'm no "tarmac expert," but that sounds contradictory, Khun Chaisak, unless it's "standard" practice to mix rainwater in when preparing the tarmac mixture.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/26Oct2006_news03.php

[STEELINOX]

My god, please oh please re-open Don Muang ! ! !

[STEELINOX]

Whats next the runway! What a fleecing of the LOS !

[zink]

....Mr Somchai said a possible cause of the problem was that taxiways had been completed as long as two years before the airport was opened on Sept 28. After being completed, they had been left unused long enough to deteriorate, he said. Aviation Department director-general Chaisak Angkhasuwan said the cracks found did not show the airport construction was substandard......

Basically he is saying that:

- if the taxiway isn't used it will deteriorate in two years

- if the taxiway is used, it won't deteriorate

I love those excuses, yeah the problem is somewhere else and not in the construction....

Btw, what would happen if they have to close down a whole runway, just in time for a high season? That would halve the capacity of the airport...

[sriracha john]

....Mr Somchai said a possible cause of the problem was that taxiways had been completed as long as two years before the airport was opened on Sept 28. After being completed, they had been left unused long enough to deteriorate, he said. Aviation Department director-general Chaisak Angkhasuwan said the cracks found did not show the airport construction was substandard......

Basically he is saying that:

- if the taxiway isn't used it will deteriorate in two years

- if the taxiway is used, it won't deteriorate

I love those excuses, yeah the problem is somewhere else and not in the construction....

Btw, what would happen if they have to close down a whole runway, just in time for a high season? That would halve the capacity of the airport...

I'm sure a nearby facility could easily pick up the slack... it's been operational for years and is less than an hour away.

Chonburi Flying Club Airstrip Tower

Similiar to the new airport's claims and if I'm not mistaken, this facility has the tallest control tower of any flying club airstrip in Chonburi province.

[Rinrada]

....Mr Somchai said a possible cause of the problem was that taxiways had been completed as long as two years before the airport was opened on Sept 28. After being completed, they had been left unused long enough to deteriorate, he said. Aviation Department director-general Chaisak Angkhasuwan said the cracks found did not show the airport construction was substandard......

Basically he is saying that:

- if the taxiway isn't used it will deteriorate in two years

- if the taxiway is used, it won't deteriorate

I love those excuses, yeah the problem is somewhere else and not in the construction....

Btw, what would happen if they have to close down a whole runway, just in time for a high season? That would halve the capacity of the airport...

Believe that the back up runway is actually the top deck road of Bagna Trad..

Dont know what they would do about the tolls but if the incoming jet just held on a little bit they could just about let everyone off at Pattaya...

Save on a Taxi fares as well.....

[bkkandrew]

Back to the cracks again??? You have to love these lads - I just pray to buddha that smth unsafe doesnt happen because of bad construction and poor design.

Yes - I am taking off in a few hours!!!

Paris airport roof collapse kills five.

However, cracks and falling dust had been observed just before the accident, said an airport spokesman.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3739715.stm

Well, got away OK without disappearing down any cracks...

Airport still a bloody mess...

Flight delayed loads...

Just considered, looking at your pic... How similar the Paris design is to the new airport.

[sriracha john]

In direct conflict of what Aviation Department director-general Chaisak Angkhasuwan said earlier in this thread, some experts say otherwise. For some reason, they sound more credible:

Engineers: Cracks due to use of cheap tarmac

Engineers say swollen and cracked taxiways and parking bays at Suvarnabhumi airport are the result of the use of cheap tarmac, according to airport general manager Somchai Sawasdeepon.

Mr Somchai said engineers from the Engineering Institute of Thailand and taxiway construction supervisors inspected the airport yesterday following the discovery of two swollen and cracked taxiways and five aircraft parking bays similarly damaged to the east and west of the passenger terminal. The uneven part along an eastern taxiway is 150 metres long and its cracks are 33cm deep . All the uneven areas are closed for repairs. According to Mr Somchai, the inspection found excessive amounts of water in canals surrounding the airport protected by flood dykes. The level of water outside the dykes is normally expected to be about 80cm but at present is 150cm. The excess increases the amount of underground water beneath the airport. Also known as A SWAMP! Thus, the water has seeped upward through the 73cm-thick underneath concrete layer of the taxiways and soaked the 33cm-thick superficial asphalt layer.

Sadly continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/28Oct2006_news013.php

[bkkandrew]

In direct conflict of what Aviation Department director-general Chaisak Angkhasuwan said earlier in this thread, some experts say otherwise. For some reason, they sound more credible:

Engineers: Cracks due to use of cheap tarmac

Engineers say swollen and cracked taxiways and parking bays at Suvarnabhumi airport are the result of the use of cheap tarmac, according to airport general manager Somchai Sawasdeepon.

Mr Somchai said engineers from the Engineering Institute of Thailand and taxiway construction supervisors inspected the airport yesterday following the discovery of two swollen and cracked taxiways and five aircraft parking bays similarly damaged to the east and west of the passenger terminal. The uneven part along an eastern taxiway is 150 metres long and its cracks are 33cm deep . All the uneven areas are closed for repairs. According to Mr Somchai, the inspection found excessive amounts of water in canals surrounding the airport protected by flood dykes. The level of water outside the dykes is normally expected to be about 80cm but at present is 150cm. The excess increases the amount of underground water beneath the airport. Also known as A SWAMP! Thus, the water has seeped upward through the 73cm-thick underneath concrete layer of the taxiways and soaked the 33cm-thick superficial asphalt layer.

Sadly continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/28Oct2006_news013.php

And to think I listed a number of scenarios on another thread that meant keeping DM functioning was good crisis planning (terrorism, hijack, fire, aircraft crash) but just didn't have the foresight to think of the entire place disappearing down a hole in the ground! Silly me...

[Rinrada]

Now we know wot they have done with all the missing toilet paper...

[udon]

Comments from the pilot's forum.

[sriracha john]

Comments from the pilot's forum.

thanks for the link...

not very happy campers with several scathing reports...

[dvk1951]

Comments from the pilot's forum.

Udon, thanks for the link, more insight and observations, I have copied and pasted the following from the pilots forum. It would appear that all of the negative writing is making an impact (apparently someone is paying attention):

Bangkok Post Saturday 21st October

Deputy PM says airport is embarrassing

AoT ordered to stop thinking of expansion

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula took senior Transport Ministry and airport officials to task yesterday for Suvarnabhumi airport's substandard services, which have become a big source of embarrassment for the country.

A lengthy campaign to project it as a world class airport has only brought embarrassment, he said.

Unhappy about the facilities, he has ordered Airports of Thailand (AoT) officials to stop thinking about expanding the airport and instead spend more energy and time over the next six months to make improvements to its services, according to sources at a closed-door meeting yesterday. The airport should first be worthy of praise for its services before any expansion is undertaken, he was quoted as saying.

Suvarnabhumi can currently handle 45 million passengers a year and officials hope to make it the region's biggest once the airport is fully expanded.

M.R. Pridiyathorn blamed the rush to open the airport for its poor services and stressed the need to rebuild its reputation, said the sources.

"Although the airport and its hardware are considered world class, its facilities are not. This is worrisome and everyone involved must help bring about improvements to the airport because it has been under constant criticism since the day it came into operation," said M.R. Pridiyathorn, who has already used Suvarnabhumi's services three times.

None of the senior officials attending the meeting disagreed with M.R. Pridiyathorn, who is also finance minister, and they promised to quickly get rid of the problems.

Most complaints from travellers have been about insufficient toilets, signs to direct passengers, and a shortage of meeting space, especially at the arrivals lounge.

Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen, his deputy Sansern Wongcha-um and AoT president Chotisak Asapaviriya have all admitted that had the airport's opening been delayed, these problems would not have cropped up. "It's undeniable that the problems resulted from the decision to open the airport too soon when it was not ready," said Mr Chotisak.

The opening of Suvarnabhumi was ordered by the previous government amid warnings that its facilities were not yet ready to offer standard services.

The AoT top executive said the agency had earmarked about 40 million baht to build more toilets inside and outside the terminal by the end of the year.

Fifty toilets will be added outside the airport building and 205 additional toilets will be built inside on the first, second and fourth floors, with some of them occupying areas now being used as the AoT offices, according to Mr Chotisak.

Reply With Quote

"edited for typo's"

[AlexLah]

Hi all,

Today I see that they are working on the tarmac.

So no worrie everyting will be alright

[bkkandrew]

Hi all,

Today I see that they are working on the tarmac.

So no worrie everyting will be alright

Oh. I feel so reassured by your well thought out, considered and expert analasis.

[udon]

Hi all,

Today I see that they are working on the tarmac.

So no worrie everyting will be alright