Innovative plan to improve Don Mueang airport capacity

[webfact]

Innovative plan to improve Don Mueang airport capacity
Thaivisa Reporters



BANGKOK:-- Rapid expansion of the Don Mueang airport has led authorities to what they believe is a radical but innovative solution to the problem of increased flights at the northern Bangkok hub, reports Thaivisa News.

Thaivisa News has learnt from an inside source that aviation officials are considering adapting the elevated tollway that runs parallel to the airport as a takeoff and landing strip during peak periods.

Don Meuang, once slated for closure when Suvarnabhumi opened, has become overloaded with mostly domestic traffic ever since and is now at crisis point with a new runway considered as too expensive and problematical.

The plan would see a 1.5 kilometre section of the tollway road being closed off for aircraft on the outbound lanes in the morning and a similar stretch for the inbound lanes in the early evening so that traffic disruption would be kept to a minimum.

Plans for night landings have been scrapped after engineers said installing lights would not be feasible, though night takeoffs have not been ruled out.

A slip road leading directly to the airport would be constructed so that flights could easily access the terminal. The cost is expected to be 500 million baht, a fraction of the cost of developing a new runway.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source at the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said that closing just a short section of the tollway would have only a minimal effect on vehicular transport in and out of the city as cars could use the regular Viphawadee Road underneath.

"Three lanes are more than enough to accommodate even large jets," added the source.

"Wings will easily clear the central reservation and side wall and present no problem to even the highest vehicles on the other side of the tollway."

Improvements to the road surface would also benefit motorists in the long run while air passengers would be able to access the terminal more expediently than before, he stressed.

The plan, however, has drawn criticism from local police who believe the move will overstretch officers already battling traffic snarl-ups in the area and may even encourage speeding on the road on the opposite side as motorists might try to race incoming jets.

Meanwhile, a local residents group has supported the proposals saying that airports are noisy places anyway and using the tollway would mean little change in the decibel levels for houses in the suburb and may even be quieter.

A spokesperson for the aviation authority Lorlen Wanteenungmesa cautioned that the idea was still in the early planning stages and was unlikely to be implemented before the end of the year.

"Much planning needs to be done yet," he said "And we may well start with light aircraft to see if it is indeed feasible. At all times we must think about the safety of passengers and the general public." However, he praised aviation officials for initiating the revolutionary plan as "excellent thinking outside the box" that could "save the country millions" in difficult economic times.


-- 2016-04-01

[Smiley Face]

I used to work at an airport and watched as they built a new runway. The depth of the runway bed was enormous in order to accommodate the weight of the aircraft. I wonder if the brilliant Thai engineers even considered whether the roadway would support the weight of a fully loaded aircraft smacking down onto the runway for a landing? Probably not.

Note to self: Avoid using Don Mueang airport at all costs.

[Crossy]

This may have been on the cards for some time. Anyone who has driven up Viphavadi Rangsit underneath the tollway will have noticed the uneven road sinkage caused by the massive pile caps supporting the road above, much bigger than would normally be employed.

[Ricardo]

This may have been on the cards for some time. Anyone who has driven up Viphavadi Rangsit underneath the tollway will have noticed the uneven road sinkage caused by the massive pile caps supporting the road above, much bigger than would normally be employed.

So fully up to normal Thai runway-construction standards then, with built-in subsidence, as also seen at Swampy !

Now if only they'd make a start on that third-runway project, rather than endlessly studying it, or mulling it, or even just re-announcing it again & again !

[lemonjelly]

My missus was telling me about this last week, it will help with extra flights being planned between Suwannapoom and Don Muang.

Edited April 1, 2016 by lemonjelly

[jamesbrock]

[NongKhaiKid]

Pray that none of the so called ' decision makers ' read this story.

[z42]

if you think about it, what kind of airport runway can be built on concrete pillars? The weight and speed of any commercial jet would smash the pillars to pieces in no time at all.

Plus how can an airport taxi off a slip road. Where is the gap in the buildings going to be so the wings don't smash into anything as it turns in.

[orpheus454]

if you think about it, what kind of airport runway can be built on concrete pillars? The weight and speed of any commercial jet would smash the pillars to pieces in no time at all.

Plus how can an airport taxi off a slip road. Where is the gap in the buildings going to be so the wings don't smash into anything as it turns in.

Priceless response...!

[RKASA]

They will store the flood control propellers under the roadway/runway during the dry season.

[happysoul]

Good one thanks

[BigBadGeordie]

Not Thai bashing, but, this is nothing new, hardly innovation.

They have been doing it for years at Dallas John Wayne Airport

[orpheus454]

This may have been on the cards for some time. Anyone who has driven up Viphavadi Rangsit underneath the tollway will have noticed the uneven road sinkage caused by the massive pile caps supporting the road above, much bigger than would normally be employed.

No, these must be for some other purpose.

Due to the use of modern materials such as kevlar, modern aircraft are actually extremely light.

How else do you think they get off the ground...?

[jaywalker]

I just heard that Prayut has cancelled the project, as he's worried there might be some corruption in the contracts.

[Estrada]

I also have inside information that they will be accommodating flying boats for the next airport floods.

[Rimmer]

The road next to Tengah Air Base in Singapore was built as an auxiliary runway, during exercises I have seen them close the road and land their F16s on there.

[overherebc]

This may have been on the cards for some time. Anyone who has driven up Viphavadi Rangsit underneath the tollway will have noticed the uneven road sinkage caused by the massive pile caps supporting the road above, much bigger than would normally be employed.

Absolutely.

That's why they have been extracting all the ground water in the area for years. It firms up the sub-strata and helps the vertical stabilization of the piles of the caps you mentioned.

I was wondering how long it would take to make this announcement. The timing is perfect.

[Martyjustice]

Goerdie. ... John Wayne Airport is in Orange County CA, Dallas has DFW and Love Field. Yes the planes taxi over bridges at Dallas Fort Worth International. They don't land n them though.

[Baakwaan]

"aviation authority Lorlen Wanteenungmesa..."

Edited April 1, 2016 by Baakwaan

[maewang99]

avoid Don Mueang? might not always be so easy, BKK sits at 2 meters, DMK has an extra one. if ya think landing on an overpass is tough then try to picture plowing a jumbo thru saltwater.

Edited April 1, 2016 by maewang99

[orpheus454]

Goerdie. ... John Wayne Airport is in Orange County CA, Dallas has DFW and Love Field. Yes the planes taxi over bridges at Dallas Fort Worth International. They don't land n them though.

Thanks for that, Marty.

You might have also pointed out that Americans drive on the RHS of the road.

[jamesbrock]

Not Thai bashing, but, this is nothing new, hardly innovation.

They have been doing it for years at Dallas John Wayne Airport

Many airports have bridges on taxiways, as at Leipzig/Halle Airport

or even runways like at Singapore Airport

But none have runways that are elevated in their entirety, and the thought of using an existing elevated roadway—let alone a Thai-built one*—is simply ludicrous (hence the date of this story).

*Not Thai-bashing either, but Thai-built elevated roadways, or at least partially built ones, have been known to spontaneously fall to the ground...

[tx22cb]

Not Thai bashing, but, this is nothing new, hardly innovation.

They have been doing it for years at Dallas John Wayne Airport

That photo is of Changi Airport in Singapore?

[SOTIRIOS]

....can't get those dollars in fast enough...

[Partenavia]

I don't really understand the need for this, Don Muang is nowhere near the capacity it was handling before Swampy opened. When you arrive you can see all the empty bays as well. However, the taxi ways are in a bad state of repair, some of it as a result of the flooding in 2012.

[kaptainrob]

Passing thru DMK last week I saw these plans, laid aside wash basins in Terminal 2 toilets by an AOT employee. I noted roof-top parking for 2 aircraft atop new multistory carpark to the north of Terminal 1. Very handy in time of floods although better suited to the free DMK>BKK helicopter taxi service commencing today from the main apron.

[torpedo1970]

[dieseldave1951]

perpose built mate not a conversion job ?????

Not Thai bashing, but, this is nothing new, hardly innovation.
They have been doing it for years at Dallas John Wayne Airport

[dieseldave1951]

perpose built mate not a conversion job also this is a taxi apron not made for jets coming out of the sky and bouncing down on it ??????

Not Thai bashing, but, this is nothing new, hardly innovation.

They have been doing it for years at Dallas John Wayne Airport

[Robbie Dye]

Think Nok would soon be short of even more pilots!!