Thailand holidays face airport threat
Connie Levett, Bangkok
The Age (Australia)
Cracks in the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport, South-East Asia's biggest air hub, already a serious safety issue, could play holiday havoc with tourists arriving in Thailand.
With 11 of 51 gates at the new airport closed because of subsidence in aircraft parking areas, Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen announced last night he would seek cabinet approval to reopen the old airport for some domestic flights.
Domestic flights without direct international connections would return to Don Muang airport. But thousands of tourists who transit through Bangkok and use smaller airlines for connections to tourist spots such as Koh Samui, Luang Prabang in Laos and Siem Reap in Cambodia would have to battle Bangkok traffic for more than an hour between the two airports.
Problems at Suvarnabhumi Airport reached crisis point late last week when the Thai Civil Aviation Department refused to extend its interim aerodrome certificate when it expired on Thursday. The certificate shows that an airport meets international safety requirements.
The department's director-general, Chaisak Angsuwan, said the licence was refused because of multiple structural and management problems at the airport.
As well as runway cracks and subsidence in taxiways and at parking gates, the airport has yet to set up a safety committee as required for certification.
Bangkok Airways chief Prasert Prassarttong-Osoth told The Nation newspaper that the only way to fix the runway cracks would be to lay new foundations, at an estimated cost of 50 billion baht ($A1.9 billion).
The Government is keen to point out the airport can operate without the Aerodrome Certificate because Suvarnabhumi operates under a local licence. The certificate is a recent attempt by the International Civil Aviation Organisation to standardise airport operations around the world.
The problem for Thailand is twofold. There are major concerns about the extent of structural damage and the impact of damaging publicity. Ian Thomas, a senior analyst with the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Sydney, said Bangkok risked losing its premier position as regional hub. "The International Air Transport Authority has been critical, historically and currently, about developments there, including safety," he said.
A Hong Kong-based airline analyst was more upbeat. "Look out three to five years and everything will be where it should be. I don't see it as an issue to derail Thailand as a tourist destination," he said.
With 11 of 51 gates at the new airport closed because of subsidence in aircraft parking areas, Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen announced last night he would seek cabinet approval to reopen the old airport for some domestic flights.
Domestic flights without direct international connections would return to Don Muang airport. But thousands of tourists who transit through Bangkok and use smaller airlines for connections to tourist spots such as Koh Samui, Luang Prabang in Laos and Siem Reap in Cambodia would have to battle Bangkok traffic for more than an hour between the two airports.
Problems at Suvarnabhumi Airport reached crisis point late last week when the Thai Civil Aviation Department refused to extend its interim aerodrome certificate when it expired on Thursday. The certificate shows that an airport meets international safety requirements.
The department's director-general, Chaisak Angsuwan, said the licence was refused because of multiple structural and management problems at the airport.
As well as runway cracks and subsidence in taxiways and at parking gates, the airport has yet to set up a safety committee as required for certification.
Bangkok Airways chief Prasert Prassarttong-Osoth told The Nation newspaper that the only way to fix the runway cracks would be to lay new foundations, at an estimated cost of 50 billion baht ($A1.9 billion).
The Government is keen to point out the airport can operate without the Aerodrome Certificate because Suvarnabhumi operates under a local licence. The certificate is a recent attempt by the International Civil Aviation Organisation to standardise airport operations around the world.
The problem for Thailand is twofold. There are major concerns about the extent of structural damage and the impact of damaging publicity. Ian Thomas, a senior analyst with the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Sydney, said Bangkok risked losing its premier position as regional hub. "The International Air Transport Authority has been critical, historically and currently, about developments there, including safety," he said.
A Hong Kong-based airline analyst was more upbeat. "Look out three to five years and everything will be where it should be. I don't see it as an issue to derail Thailand as a tourist destination," he said.
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