Suvarnabhumi Airport Faces Partial Shutdown

[george]

New airport faces partial shutdown

Mistakes, graft found in almost all contracts

BANGKOK: -- Poor construction at Suvarnabhumi may force parts of the new airport to be shut down for repairs. This would open the way for the recently abandoned Don Muang airport to be re-opened to serve Bangkok's air traffic needs.

Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um said yesterday that following a recent report on the problems facing Suvarnabhumi airport, it was likely that part of the new facility would have to be closed and Don Muang airport would pick up the slack.

Some people had suggested the airport, open less than three months, be completely closed for a revamp, with flights being redirected to Don Muang [more...]

--Bangkok Post 2006-12-25

[taxexile]

Despite its (the novotel) claimed five-star status, the hotel had plywood doors.

the shame , the horror , the disgrace .

for this reason alone the airport should be closed immediately and heads must not only roll , but be seen rolling.

[soihok]

Khun Taxexile.

I think you would be a perfect choice to become a chat moderator.

Do you have plenty of time on your hands?

I got nothing to say about the Airport other than poor show

[BlackJack]

unfortunately no heads will roll

no one will ever be brought to justice

no one will end up in jail

THAILAND is doing itself in

and it is powerless to stop it

pity as the whole world is watching and shaking their heads

but TIT

[jasperblubber2005]

Despite its (the novotel) claimed five-star status, the hotel had plywood doors.

the shame , the horror , the disgrace .

for this reason alone the airport should be closed immediately and heads must not only roll , but be seen rolling.

the real sad part of this story is that those contractors responsible for this farce will continue to do business with the government because of their connections, i am new to this country and i am still amazed at what you are allowed to do in thailand and get nothing more than getting your hand slapped if your caught.

it seems that the story of the lack of bathrooms was just the tip of the iceberg here, even the hotel should be ashamed of themselves, a five star hotel with plywood doors, everyone involved in this mess should be run out of the country

jasper

[JacknDanny]

Despite its (the novotel) claimed five-star status, the hotel had plywood doors.

the shame , the horror , the disgrace .

for this reason alone the airport should be closed immediately and heads must not only roll , but be seen rolling.

everyone involved in this mess should be run out of the country

jasper

The main 'culprit' already has!!

[Martin]

It is interesting to see criticism of the effects of certain aspects of 'Thai ways' from such a highly-placed body as the oligarchical Government.

Cynics will say that they are seizing on anything that makes the previous regime look bad. And I can see that there could be some of that in it.

But could there also be an element of "we must use our brush to sweep clean whilst it is new"?

As His Majesty pointed out, oldies have certain abilities not (yet) granted to the younger generations.

One is that they can tackle any problem, without worrying that they may be storing up antagonisms that will give them trouble in later phases of their life.

Maybe they feel (as many contributors to this website feel) that Thailand would do well to develop in the general populace, and particularly in those involved with the placement and execution of contracts, more conscience about doing a proper job.

Lee Kuan Yew did Singapore a great service by saying (around 1960): "We won't thrive in a globalised world unless we get it accepted that we are 'squeaky clean'---so we will start by paying a proper level of salary to public servants, but insisting that they maintain the levels of Civil Servant probity that the British have demonstrated. And we'll root out corruption in commerce."

(He also saw to it that those levels were maintained, and even honed, over the years whilst they were slipping in the UK. But that is an aside.)

It was a case of: "The hardware and software only produce the results if the orgware is in place". And this publication of the report on the deficiencies at the new airport could be a result of the same thinking.

Politically, in Thailand, 2006 was 'interesting times'. Maybe that will carry on into 2007.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

[londonthai]

a 2 days ago a had a look at the wide opened mashinery room (aircon system?) in the departure area air-side - I wanted to do a shortcut to my departure gate after leaving the toilet.

nobody was there and the door was opened.

if anybody wanted to affect the functioning of the airport that would be dead(ly) easy

[dotcom]

Despite its (the novotel) claimed five-star status, the hotel had plywood doors.

the shame , the horror , the disgrace .

for this reason alone the airport should be closed immediately and heads must not only roll , but be seen rolling.

the real sad part of this story is that those contractors responsible for this farce will continue to do business with the government because of their connections, i am new to this country and i am still amazed at what you are allowed to do in thailand and get nothing more than getting your hand slapped if your caught.

it seems that the story of the lack of bathrooms was just the tip of the iceberg here, even the hotel should be ashamed of themselves, a five star hotel with plywood doors, everyone involved in this mess should be run out of the country

jasper

The problem is that no other country would accept them. Castration sounds good to me.

[castelleone]

folks, this is Thailand. Are you really surprised?

[ilyushin]

I always thought the 60/ 40 was a good division between the airports. Originally they were gonna move 60% of the traffic over to NBIA and DMK would retain the other 40% traffic based on regional, domestic and charters.

Don Muang is a time tested airport and can become a wonderful budget carrier airport for all Thailand destinations plus Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc...

[Minburi]

Really it does not come as much of a surprise but to openly admit is is a surprise..Not blaming Toxin and his group..or Farang investment...Or for the that matter even Boeing and Airbus must be somehow at fault right..

I do not even want to think about them closing say the Domestic side down and travelers having to go to Don Muang for connection..The would suck..

[qualtrough]

No, no, fix the new airport please. Enjoying the peace and quiet here near Don Muang. I wish someone would drive a stake through Don Muang's heart so it will die, die, die. Please, someone--how about a perfect spot for residential, shopping center, office, and park development, right on Vipavadee Road and minutes from central Bangkok!!

[robenroute]

I really hope they make up their minds soon about when and how as I'm flying (beginning of Febs) from Chiangmai to Bangkok to catch a flight to Sydney just 3 hours after arriving....

Any info on when they're thinking of doing what? Gee, who am I kidding? I just looked at my own silly question; TIT & TDT! It'll probably be a few more months.

[Weho]

Corruption in Thailand is no better/no worse than in the U.S. or Europe. In the U.S. and Europe, much of the money ends up in the hands of highly overpaid, highly underworked UNION/SYNDICAT employees, that may be paid $100 an hour, when they could easily be replaced with a NON union employee for 1/10 that wage. Don't forget the 34 hour work week in some parts of Europe, and the six weeks paid vacation. You don't consider that CORRUPT? In Thailand, at least some of the money ends up in the investor's /risk takers pockets, and yes, some crooked government officials' pockets, who probably aren't overpaid that much.

I prefer the crooked Thai ways to the crooked US and european ways... at least in Thailand, they don't pretend they aren't corrupt like in the U.S. and europe.

And compare the airport taxes in Thailand to those in Europe... it's a bargain here. I recall in Europe, you could find fares for like $1 one way, plus $100 each way in "taxes and fees". That's not corrupt?

I agree Don Muang would make a great budget airport, and Bangkok is big enough to support two airports, which are far apart from each other. U-tapao airport, past Pattaya, is the one that should probably close, since the new Bangkok airport is much closer to Pattaya/Rayong areas.

My complaints with the new airport: air conditioning seems to be insufficient and spotty in certain areas, and the arrivals area is already drastically overcrowded. They had a chance to make a spacious arrivals area, and they didn't. It's a frickin' zoo most of the time.

[astral]

I have not seen the new airport, but friend tells me it it dirty and uninspiring.....................

Poorly sign posted, he missed his pick up on arrival as there are at least 4 different exits...........

[Foggy Bottom]

From the Nation report - "There were many cracks in the airport's taxiways, some serious and some not, and repairs would be time-consuming, he said."

For those not familiar with the concept - FOD = Foreign Object Damage

Cracks in concrete with aircraft and vehicles rolling over them will break off pieces of concrete - to verify this, look at any Thai road.

Those pieces of concrete are Foreign Objects than can be sucked into aircraft jet engines causing Foreign Object Damage (FOD).

FOD is a major cause of damage to aircraft engines. Some damages (Big FOD) show themselves immediately they happen, causing flight abandonment. Others (small FOD) might not show for several minutes or hours after happening. The vibration of imbalanced engine turbine blades then sets up imperceivable oscillations that gradually grow and throw the engine out of balance, and can result in catastrophic disintigration of the turbine assembly - in some cases, throwing engine parts into the aircraft fuselage (paseenger cabin in a commercial airliner) or ripping the engine from the wing, potentially snapping the wing at the engine mounting point. Almost always causing engine fires.

I remember from my time in the RAF, almost monthly, being drafted into FOD walk duty (especially after any storm event) - walking the runways and taxiways with hundreds of others, looking for and collecting anything lying on the tarmac, with 3-ton mechanical sweepers following us collecting the dust, grass, and leaves that blew onto the surfaces used by aircraft. Those mechanical sweepers were in use daily, regardless of flight operations. I've never seen one active at a Thai airport.

For the Thai CAA to leave Suvannabhumi open, knowing of these taxi-way faults, is nothing short of criminal. If any aircraft out of the airport suffers engine damage due to FOD, or worse still, crashes, then the CAA officials should be held directly responsible for certifying a known hazard as "Mai Pen Rai". In the event of a crash and fatalities, they should be charged with manslaughter (at least) by the host country of the airline concerned, and that airline's insurer should file personal reparation claims against the officials - maybe then they will understand that Thais ARE responsible, to the global community, for their actions in Thailand?

Trains are looking good until this gets sorted out

[londonthai]

thailand is still in the first 10 worlds most corrupted countries - whatever office you go you are expected to pay a bribe to speed things up and to have any interest from the bureaucrats.

edit: it was in reply to Weho post

Edited December 25, 2006 by londonthai

[wasanajones]

as those of you that live here know "plan" is a four letter word in Thailand. Thais also don't seem to see things the same way as Westerners - as in, 'why are you painting the wall before repairing the big gapping hole in it'...

and as far as corruption goes -- while the scale of American corruption is unmatched in the history of mankind, it is no way as pervasive as Thailand. Hundreds of billions of dollars siphoned off the middle-American tax-payer-sheep duped into believing they are fighting terrorism, protecting democracy and securing 'their' oil instead of supporting the military-industrial complex that DWIGHT EISENHOWER warned about when he left office -- versus EVERY public project and EVERY government office being part of a system of graft. Is it really corruption if it is the accepted system?

[dotcom]

A white elephant mega project like cobra snake swamp airport only comes along once in a lifetime. The POB have to graft as much as possible at that opportunity.

As the above poster says "T.I.T. Are you really surprised?

The criminals are the ones that signed off on the design of this POS. And those that certified that the work had been done up to spec.

But that is the way it has always been & the way it will always be. To expect anything else is irrational.

Edited December 25, 2006 by dotcom

[JetsetBkk]

Brand new airport closed for repairs? You couldn't make it up. Thailand's reputation going south again.

[kash]

Bla Bla bla ...

Please do yourself a favour; buy a dictionary and find the word "corruption."

[john b good]

What I find somewhat ironic now (when it is all too obvious) is that Suvarnabhumi airport is now shown to have been a shody job from the word go. Anyone with half an eye could have seen that.

Everything; planning, letting of tenders, transparency, construction, commissioning, not to mention the fact that the taxiways are falling apart (and probably the runways as well), everything to do with Suvarnabhumi was suspect from the outset.

Does this really surprise anyone?

Back in September a lot of the old TV hands were lauding the new airport and saying what a great job had been done in getting it up and running (and) on time.

And the problems they are acknowledging now are the ones that cannot be hidden.

What about the distinct likelihood that all the landing systems, radar and the like are all substandard as well.

The best thing would be to shut it down completely and go through the issues with a fine tooth comb before a major disaster occurs.

What a joke. But then when it comes to building something everyone is an "expert"

That's why they put windows or viewing points in hoardings around construction sites isn't it, they are for all the "sidewalk superintendents"

Far be it for me to say now "but, I told you so"

[s.pylos]

unfortunately no heads will roll

no one will ever be brought to justice

no one will end up in jail

THAILAND is doing itself in

and it is powerless to stop it

pity as the whole world is watching and shaking their heads

but TIT

A bit dramatic...

I believe the world is rather busy and has more important things to do than looking over here...

[sandy]

[Acquiesce]

I have not seen the new airport, but friend tells me it it dirty and uninspiring.....................

Poorly sign posted, he missed his pick up on arrival as there are at least 4 different exits...........

I found the airport to be very clean and easy to navigate, maybe your friend gets confused when there is more than one choice but i think most people manage. As for being 'uninspiring', what does your friend want to do at the airport? Catch a plane or write a novel? Though if he has trouble with the choice of four exits i doubt that the latter would be an option.

This article is not news, come back and tell me when they have closed the airport. That would be news, at the moment it's just the usual noises coming from people who want to be recognised and made to feel important, i'm surprised anyone with any experience within Thailand is taking any of this seriously.

Merry christmas to all celebrating today.

[gmac]

No, no, fix the new airport please. Enjoying the peace and quiet here near Don Muang. I wish someone would drive a stake through Don Muang's heart so it will die, die, die. Please, someone--how about a perfect spot for residential, shopping center, office, and park development, right on Vipavadee Road and minutes from central Bangkok!!

Or maybe an all-night karaoke zone - to soothe you to sleep!!

[Monkey Boy]

It’s a crying shame what they have, or rather haven't, done to the new airport.

This was supposed to be the new gateway to Asia, a source of national pride. When I go home (in Thailand) everybody asks me if I have pictures of the new airport. The children and their friends are so excited about this milestone project and want to see it and hear about it.

Thai TV showed it as a sparkling gem in the crown of Thailand.

The truth is so much different. That the nations best example to show its good side to the world looks more like a multistory car park, that is well past is days, is criminal.

I use airports all across the world. Singapore still is the best for me. Even Dubai which is usually packed and is nothing more than a large duty-free area performs it job better and more attractively than Suvarnabhumi.

Even the wife couldn't believe her eyes, even though I had pre-warned her of the dull concrete walls, lack of chairs, hardly any toilets, exposed cable trays and pipe work, signs that are wrong and have been hastily covered up. Even the baggage system - which may have at least looked good for 5 minutes - until the first bag scratched the stainless steel makes the airport look like 20 years old.

People can mock and make fun of the whole affair. Yes they can say TIT. For me it breaks my heart that what should have been a show piece, a national treasure, something to pin you national pride on is nothing more than sub standard, third rate, and botched job.

I only hope that this affair is sorted out before somebody gets hurt or killed and that some pride can again be restore to a country were "face" means everything.

[Loz]

This IS Thailand. I came here not knowing quite what to expect but, I bought a one way ticket anyway. I like it. I don't plan on using the airport for some time as I enjoy living here with the relaxed Thai state of mind. For all of you who find it abhorrent, use whatever airport is working at the time and go somewhere more suitable where you don't feel the need to point the the finger of blame for every act of wrong doing.

This is a long winded way of saying, "let he/she who is without sin cast the first stone".

For the life of me, with all this complaining I really don't understand what you are doing here. Am I the only one who came "here" so I could shed my negative feelings related to "there"?

Merry Christmas, one and all!

This is a time for good cheer and merriment. Let us all join in prayer for those we know and those we don't and wish everyone the very best that they could hope for and then add 10%.

Hope you are all having a tremendous Christmas day and looking forward to a wonderful new year in the land of Smiles!

Ps. I was outside my Thai friends bike shop the other night and there was a gun shot just up the road. Police ducked down a side road ( looking for back up one hopes) My friend turned out the ligts and we watched from the darkness of his patio. Nobody it seems was hurt and within 10 minutes normality was resumed. Was this a tradgedy? No, it is just another odd story about a country I continue to develop affection for. Jai Yen, folks...

[paulbrun]

This question is not really to do with the problems facing the 'new' airport specifically, as the same situation faced travellers at Don Muang. But can somebody explain to me why we still have to be loaded onto buses, and taken out to the planes, which are parked in a 'special' area, if we are flying to 'certain' domestic destinations..? Is it just because there are 'some' passengers who haven't cleared immigration, and customs, on these flights..? I find it one of the most frustrating things about travelling through Bangkok, to have to head down to the ground floor, be herded onto a crowded bus, driven by someone with no concern for the many people trying to stand upright in the back, driven out to the plane, whereoupon you have climb the stairs, with all your luggage, and then fight an oncoming flow of people from the opposite direction, just to get to your seat..? Isn't there a much easier way of separating the domestic passengers, from the international ones...? Or maybe not....?? Anyway, I am moving to another area of the country, partly to avoid this, and if I never see either Bangkok airport ever again, I will be a happy man..!

[Jingthing]

If they had any sense of humor, they would rename the joint

Thaksin Memorial Cobra Swamp Airport

while he is still alive.

Credit where credit is due.

Edited December 25, 2006 by Jingthing