Authorities mull return to Don Muang airport

(TNA, BangkokPost.com)

The government and airport executives are considering whether to reopen Bangkok's 90-year-old airport at Don Muang as attempts to fix the brand-new Suvarnabhumi Airport are causing disruption. On Saturday morning, one of the two runways was closed for repairs.

About 100 cracks were found at the new airport's taxiways and runaways and damaged sections are being closed off while repair work is carried out.

Transport Minister Admiral Thira Haocharoen told reporters the possibility of moving some flights back to Don Muang is being considered, especially for point-to-point domestic flights.

Don Muang was decommissioned as Bangkok's main airport in September when the new airport was officially opened but support for reopening the Don Muang facility is gaining momentum as more troubles are reported at Suvarnabhumi.

The minister said that the move would speed up the repair work and help ease traffic congestion at the new airport, adding that government agencies and airline executives will discuss the issue next week.

Adm Thira maintained that Thailand would not shut down Bangkok's spanking new US$3.8 billion international airport completely.

He admitted there were doubts about whether it was appropriate to carry out repair work in sections before a detailed study of the damage at the new airport has been completed.

The cabinet on Tuesday decided to convene a panel of "independent" experts to determine how serious the cracks are and what has caused them. The head of the panel is a board member of Airports of Thaland, which runs the facility.

The airport, which was officially opened in September, was designed to handle 45 million passengers a year.

The minister said problems at Suvarnabhumi would not only disrupt air traffic for several weeks, but also undermine the confidence of both the public and airlines.

More disruption was forecast for Saturday as the airport's east runway was closed from 2 to 6 a.m. for repairs, said Passakorn Surapipith, deputy director of the Suvarnabhumi Airport.

He added that the 40 incoming and outgoing flights scheduled would use the west runway.

Bangkok Post
Sunday January 28, 2007