DON MUANG AIRPORT
THAI going back to the future

SUVARNABHUMI: -- National carrier to move all but three of its domestic routes from Suvarnabhumi to old airport to save on operating costs

Thai Airways International is moving all of its domestic routes, excep

Oh great ... that is really convenient ... not!

Have they given any thought to those of us that don't want to fly on to one of those three excepted domestic routes .... who will now need to travel between the new and the old airports!

Me thinks the 554 Express will be even more crowded than before!

Packpao

quote:

who will now need to travel between the new and the old airports!

Apparently the airline will operate a shuttle bus. Not the greatest news but better than nothing I suppose.

In April there is one hour between the arrival of my international flight and the departure of my domestic flight. Should be interesting if this new arrangement is in place !

I thought they were moving back to Don Muang (Internal flights only) because the new airport as a lot of structual problems. And moving back to Don Muang was a short term fix, not a long term solution. Thai airways are now very strict on weight limit on internal flight.

hi guys does any one know what routes they are moving to there???
tiny

All domestic apart from Phuket, Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai.

thanks for that lucky .as we go to phuket so no change for us then...tiny

If people find it more favourable to travel overland between Udon Thani and Khon Kaen as opposed to Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi, Khon Kaen may become overbooked with people transferring to/from International flights. The same may apply to Chiang Mai in regards to Mae Hong Son and Chiang Rai.

also air asia want to move all flights back to old airport.....and thai are going to form a low cost carrier which they want based at old airport

More problems at Suvarnabhumi

At least Don Muang's runways don't go up and down when it rains.

I see Suvarnabhumi

had one runway closed for repairs for a while

And the safety pass held back

Article pasted below (as Bangkok Post articles aren't held online for very long)

Packpao

========================================================
General news >> Saturday January 27, 2007
Airport has safety pass held back

After new law, DCA will review situation

POST REPORTERS and AFP

The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) yesterday decided to postpone renewing an international safety certificate for Suvarnabhumi as the airport prepared to close the eastern runway for repairs early this morning. DCA director-general Chaisak Angkasuwan said the authorities would reassess the situation at Suvarnabhumi after a new law is passed requiring all airports to meet the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Passakorn Surapipit, Suvarnabhumi airport deputy director for operations, said the eastern runway would be closed from 2-6am for tarmac repairs at its far end. Incoming flights could use the western runway during the hours when traffic is normally light, he added.

Mr Chaisak said Suvarnabhumi could operate without the DCA's safety certificate but conceded that the lack of it would undermine confidence in the airport, that opened in late September of last year.

''Getting the certificate is not legally binding so Suvarnabhumi can operate without such a certificate,'' Mr Chaisak told AFP.

The DCA had been scheduled either to issue a permanent Aerodrome Certificate for Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday, or renew an interim document awarded on July 25 last year.

The DCA certificate assures that the airport meets the ICAO's standards.

Airports of Thailand Plc board member Tortrakul Yomnak said Don Muang airport would serve as a back-up facility to avoid the need for arriving aircraft to spend long periods in holding patterns during the runway repair.

Longer-term remedial work will take place when officials know the exact cause of the cracks, he said, noting that the cost of the task could range from 300 million baht to three billion baht.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont confirmed yesterday that Suvarnabhumi would not be completely closed for repairs.

He said the damage to parts of the taxiways and runways could be managed and flight services continued. In the meantime, officials could investigate to find the exact causes in two weeks and later work out permanent solutions.

Due to five hours of repair work on the western runway on Thursday, four incoming flights had to be diverted to U-tapao airport in Chon Buri province for refuelling after circling over Suvarnabhumi for longer than 30 minutes.

The work forced approaching aircraft to queue up for the remaining eastern runway. Thai Airways International had its planes loaded with fuel to cope with the traffic congestion.

Cracked taxiways are blocking access to 12 of 50 aprons but Gen Surayud said this proportion was acceptable.

Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen said the return of domestic flights to Don Muang airport had to be moved forward to relieve congestion at Suvarnabhumi.

Gen Surayud said the confidence of international airlines depended on safety and Thai authorities had already given priority to this question.

Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, chairman of the Council for National Security, briefly referred to problems at Suvarnabhumi airport during his interview scheduled for airing on CNN last night.

He later said he made the reference while explaining corruption problems that prompted him to stage the coup d'etat on Sept 19 last year.

Meanwhile, a sub-panel of the National Legislative Assembly's committee on Suvarnabhumi airport has found irregularities in King Power International Group's management of commercial space in the passenger terminal.

According to sub-committee chairman Gen Pathompong Kaysornsuk, King Power had made adjustments in the terminal without receiving prior authorisation.

They include locating its outlets in such a way that they obstruct passenger movement, modifying air-conditioning vents and leasing out space to the Louis Tavern Hotel which competes with AoT's Novotel Suvarnabhumi Hotel in the compound.

Not surprised really the goverment is reportedly considering closing the new airport to make repairs. the AOT said they did not need to follow IATA basic plans for any future airports as they said they could make it better. The Japanese and Malaysians followed it and they have wonderfi#ul efficient airports

Thanks Packpao. I didn't realise the articles disappeared so quickly.

quote:

Article pasted below (as Bangkok Post articles aren't held online for very long)
Packpao

My experience of the airport was that it appeared efficient, with no check/security delays. Not much to do there if you have a long wait, although not much different from other airports. It only took one hour to get there from our house,as there is a good motorway link, we anticipated 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

I was a bit concerned to see so many drainage canals alongside the runways/taxi ways. I prefer to see plenty of grass, in case of pilot error.

Incidentally the flight from LHR to BKK was 1 hour late. Also from BKK to Brisbane one hour late. The later was blamed on a technical problem on the 777 we had - no in flight entertainment for most of cattle class.

Edit. Not contradicting Steve regarding efficiency. Kuala Lumpur, is a very impressive airport.

PS to my previous post. Hearthrow was a shambles when we came through it. The security area was a nightmare. A lot of people having problems there.

Cobra Swamp is reclaiming Bangkok's showpiece airport

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok’s showpiece international airport, opened last year, appears to be sinking into the swamp on which it was built. The city’s old airport will have to be reopened and some flights diverted there.

The $4 billion (£205 million) Suvarnabhumi airport was opened with great fanfare by Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister, shortly before he was ousted by a military coup last year. It boasts the world’s largest hangar and tallest control tower.

More than 100 cracks have appeared in runways, taxiways and the apron. Thailand’s temporary Government is conducting an investigation into its construction at a site formerly known as Cobra Swamp. Hurried repairs are being made after flights had to be diverted to a former US B52 bomber base at U-Tapao, near the holiday resort of Pattaya.

As alarm grew about the airport, designed to handle 45 million passengers a year, Thir Haocharoen, the Transport Minister, was seeking Cabinet approval to reopen the Don Muang airport for domestic flights. Eleven of the 51 piers for unloading aircraft are un-usable because of the cracks. Throughout the 40 years since the new airport was first planned, there have been allegations of corruption and shoddy work. When it opened there were unworkable lifts, a shortage of lavatories, a leaky roof and large areas of unfinished construction.

“There is so much bad news about this airport and so much that needs to be fixed,” said Yodiam Teptaranon, a board member of Airports of Thailand (AOT), which is responsible for the site. “Everything seems to be happening all at once. It makes everyone concerned.”

The news comes at a time when Thailand is struggling to maintain its tourist industry, which was damaged by last year’s events and concern about the military coup.

There are 61 problems and design flaws that need to be corrected at an estimated cost of 1.5 billion baht (£22 million), according to a study for AOT, which estimated that the work would take six months.

A weekend poll in Thailand found that 48 per cent of people suspected that corruption was the main cause behind the airport’s problems. And 16.5 per cent said that they felt unsafe using it. Alongkorn Pollabutr, the Democrat Party deputy leader, called at the weekend for an investigation into subsidence under the main passenger and cargo terminal.

Sumet Jumsai, one of Thailand’s top architects, however, insists that the airport would have collapsed — corruption or not. Fifteen years ago he had fought against its location on a swamp. “Nature is now taking its toll in this swamp, and I feel everyone has got it wrong in the ongoing investigation,” he said. “The bottom line is that with or without corruption the runways and any structure not on piles will be subject to differential settlement and cracks.”

The temporary Government put in place by the junta and led by General Surayud Chulanont says that it will report its findings on the runways in two weeks.

Sinking feeling

Building work on the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, begun in 1904, was delayed 30 years as the marble facade sank into soft soil. It still sinks a few centimetres a year.

Shanghai’s massive construction boom was slowed in 2003 when authorities discovered that parts of the city were sinking one-and-a-half centimetres a year because of the sheer weight of skyscrapers.

Source: Andrew Drummond, Times Online UK, Agencies

quote:

Originally posted by clf:
also air asia want to move all flights back to old airport

thai air asia will not move domestic flights to don muang because some of its planes are used on both domestic and international routes, therefore it needs all of its departures and arrivals to be from the same airport.

ian.

There was a piece on ABC news (Australia) last night on the problems at Suvarnabhumi. I missed the start of the item, but it was evident that some travelers were concerned about the safety implications of the cracks appearing there.