Suvarnabhumi Airport

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Departure screen at Suvarnabhumi
Structure at Suvarnabhumi
Airport Terminal

Suvarnabhumi Airport ([ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ; Pronounced su-wan-na-poom] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)),(IATA: BKK, ICAO: VTBS), also known as (New) Bangkok International Airport, is the international airport serving Bangkok, Thailand. After numerous delays, the airport opened for limited service on 15 September 2006, and opened for all commercial flights on 28 September.[1] The airport is the main hub for Thai Airways International, Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia and a focus city for China Airlines, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, Air India, Indian Airlines, Emirates, and SriLankan Airlines.

The airport is located in Racha Thewa in Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan Province, about 25 km east of Bangkok. The name Suvarnabhumi was chosen by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and refers to the ancient kingdom hypothesized to have been located somewhere in Southeast Asia. Designed by Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn Architects, this airport has the world's tallest control tower (132.2 m), and the world's second largest single building and airport terminal (563,000 m²), just a little smaller than Hong Kong International Airport (570,000 m²) but larger than South Korea's Incheon International Airport (496,000 m²). The airport replaced the old Don Mueang International Airport which was the fourth busiest airport for passenger traffic in Asia in 2005 (behind Tokyo's Haneda Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, and Hong Kong International Airport) as Bangkok's primary airport for all commercial airline flights.[2] It also inherited the IATA Airport Code BKK from Don Mueang after the older airport ceased commercial flights.

Months into its opening, issues such as congestion, construction quality, signage, provision of facilities, and soil subsidence continued to plague the airport, prompting calls to reopen Don Muang to allow for repairs to be conducted,[3] especially from low-cost airlines.[4] The Thai junta announced its intention to reopen Don Muang permanently as a second International airport, despite objections to the idea from Airports of Thailand, the Civil Aviation Department, and over 60 domestic and international airlines. Only three airlines, namely Thai AirAsia, Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways have expressed interest in moving all their flights back to Don Muang.[5][6] The Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont decided on 16 February 2007 not to reopen Don Muang as a second international airport for the city. However, domestic flights will still have operations at Don Muang such as those with no flight connections. Airlines can move their flights back to the old airport on a voluntary basis. The government will be doing a six month study and will come out with a proposal whether other flights should move back to Don Muang.

There will be 71 flights at the airport will move back.[7] Expert opinions varied widely regarding the extent of Suvarnabhumi's problems as well as their root cause, however most airlines claimed that damage to the airport was minimal.[8][9]

The airport is currently given a rating of three stars by Skytrax's airport grading exercise along with seven other airports.[10]

History

Land purchase, early construction

The plot of land occupied by the airport with an approximate area of 8,000 acres (20,000 rai, or 32.4 km²) was purchased in 1973, but the student uprising on October 14 of the same year was followed by the overthrowing the military government of Thanom Kittikachorn and the project was shelved.[11] After a series of ups and downs, the "New Bangkok International Airport" company (NBIA) was formed in 1996. Due to political and economic instabilities, notably the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the civil construction began six years later in January 2002 during the government of Thaksin Shinawatra. The airport is located in a once low-lying marsh, formerly known as Nong Ngu Hao (Thai: หนองงูเห่า, lit. "Cobra Swamp"), which took about 5 years (1997 - 2001) to clear through land reclamation. In 2005, the construction supervision and management was transferred to the Airports of Thailand PLC, while the NBIA company was dissolved.

Financing

30% of the airport's construction cost was covered by Airports of Thailand, while another 70% came from the Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC). Airport-related procurement followed JBIC's stringent guidelines for transparency and openness.

Early construction, airport tests, and official opening

The airport was due to open in late 2005, but a series of budget overruns, construction flaws, and allegations of corruption plagued the project. Symbolic first test flights involving two Thai Airways aircraft were held on September 29, 2005, a previously announced deadline for opening.

A further problem was the widespread belief that the airport was haunted by spirits, and frequent sightings of ghosts by superstitious construction workers, so that on September 23, 2005, the Thai airports authority held a ceremony with 99 buddhist monks chanting prayers to calm these spirits. The ceremony was interrupted when an old man spoke up and identified himself as a spirit called Poo Ming (or Grandfather Ming). He demanded that a spirit house be constructed to placate the resident spirits who had been disturbed by the airport construction, and then passed out. When he revived, the "spirit" had apparently stopped possessing him. IANS article about the haunting

Full tests of the airport, with seats sold to the public, took place on July 3 and July 29, 2006. Six airlines – Thai Airways International, Nok Air, Thai Air Asia, Bangkok Airways, PBAir and One-Two-GO – used the airport as a base for 20 domestic flights.[12][13] The first international test flights were conducted on September 1, 2006. Two THAI's aircraft, B747-400 and A300-600, simultaneously departed the airport on 9.19am to Singapore and Hong Kong. On 3.50pm the same aircraft flew back and made concurrent touchdowns on runways 19L and 19R. These test flights demonstrated the readiness of the airport to handle heavy traffic.

On 15 September 2006, the airport started limited operations with Jetstar Asia Airways operating three flights daily to Singapore and Thai Airways International operating some domestic flights to Phitsanulok, Chiang Mai and Ubon Ratchathani. Bangkok Airways moved on 21 September, AirAsia and Thai AirAsia followed suit on 25 September and on 26 September Nok Air moved to Suvarnabhumi Airport. During this initial phase, as well as in the previous tests, the airport used the temporary IATA code NBK.

Gapura at level 4 of Suvarnabhumi Airport

Suvarnabhumi officially opened at 3:00am on September 28, 2006, taking over all flights from Don Mueang. The first flight to arrive was Lufthansa Cargo flight LH8442 from Mumbai at 3:05am.[14] The first commercial arrival was from Japan Airlines at 3:30am. The first passenger arrival was Aerosvit flight VV171 from Kiev at 4:30am, and the first cargo departure was Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV-984 to Riyadh at 5:00am.[15] Aerosvit also had the first passenger departure (VV172 to Kiev) around 5:30am.[16]

Initial difficulties

Many difficulties were recorded the first few days of the airport's operation. On the first day alone, sluggish luggage claims were rampant (the very first passenger arrival by Aerosvit took an hour for the luggage to start coming out, and some flight did not have their luggage coming out after four hours, many flights were delayed (Thai Airways claimed that 17 of 19 flights were delayed that day), and there were also failures of the check-in system.[17][18] Subsequent problems included the failure of the cargo computer system, and the departure boards displaying the wrong information, resulting in confused passengers (especially as unlike Don Muang, there were no "final calls" issued).[19]

Concourse D
Baggage belt

Capacity and safety issues

Problems with the tarmac

The Engineering Institute of Thailand conducted investigations at the airport in late 2006 after signs of distress were spotted at several locations in Suvarnabhumi's taxiways and taxilanes. Rutting was found in five of the six taxilanes and one of the six taxiways. Plastic deformation of the asphalt wearing course was observed near the takeoff position of the runway. However, the investigators noted that plastic deformation at this location was a common phenomenon and only routine maintenance was required to repair the distress. Aside from this surface distortion, both runways were in good structural condition.

Further investigations found that that taxilane and taxiway rutting was caused by separation of the asphalt binder from the aggregate surface due to prolonged water infiltration into the asphalt concrete base course, a phenomenon known as "stripping." The 23 cm thick base course is the top-most layer of the tarmac. Core samples indicated that the concrete base course material contained the correct job mix and aggregate gradation. Below the base course are the binder course, the wearing course, and the cement-treated base.

Detailed investigations found that water seepage was evident along the rims of the expansion joints in the cement-tested base, indicating that a large quantity of water was still trapped in the sand blanket (the bottom-most layer of the tarmac). It was found that water trapped in the sand blanket was fully confined with no connection to the pavement areas of the airport. A later investigation by the AoT identified several potential reasons for the trapped water in the sand blanket. The AoT's findings were disputed by several experts.

The Engineering Institute of Thailand sent a formal warning to the AoT in November 2006 about the urgent need to drain water from beneath the tarmac, and the need for immediate action. "The AOT did nothing about the problem," Suebsak Promboon of the EIT noted. "The situation might not have become this bad if the water had been drained then."

In a public statement on 15 February 2007, the EIT again strongly recommended that trapped water should be drained out urgently to minimise the potential spread of cracks. Karun Chandrarangsu, president of the Engineering Institute of Thailand noted, "Suvarnabhumi is like a patient in a coma who continues to suffer from severe bleeding. Stopping the blood flow now is more urgent and important than debating what caused the injury."[20][21] In January 2007, ruts were discovered in the taxiways and runways at Suvarnabhumi.[22] Expert opinions have varied widely as to the root cause of the ruts.[23] Airport authorities and airline representatives have maintained that the airport was still safe and resisted suggestions that the airport should be completely closed and all flights moved back to Don Muang.[24]

On 27 January 2007, however, the Department of Civil Aviation declined to renew the airport's safety certificate, which expired the previous day. The ICAO requires that international airports hold aerodrome safety certificates, but Suvarnabhumi will continue to operate because the ICAO requirement has yet to be adopted as part of Thai law.[25]

A two-week investigation led by Tortrakul Yomnak, a chief engineer for Airports of Thailand and a leader of the anti-Thaksin movement, later found that the runway was safe, and that cracks could be repaired in as little as a few hours. At the beginning of the investigation, Tortrakul had warned that the airport might need to be closed for three years.[26][27]

The military junta used allegedly shoddy construction at the airport as one of the justifications its overthrow of the Thaksin-government, and it later purged the top management of AoT.[28][29][30] Critics noted that junta-led investigations were unlikely to reveal an impartial picture of the airport's shortcomings. "Problems are normal for any new airport. In our case it's made more complex because everybody wants to run down the former prime minister," noted Sumet Jumsai, a leading Thai architect.[31]

Capacity

In January 2007, Thai Airways announced a plan to move most of its domestic operations back to Don Muang International Airport due to overcrowding.

Plans to move back to Don Muang

Three days later, the Ministry of Transport recommended temporarily reopening Don Muang while repair work on the runways at Suvarnabhumi proceeds. The recommendation is still subject to approval by the junta's Cabinet. Thai Airways said it would shift most of its domestic flights back, keeping flights with high international passenger connections such as Chiang Mai and Phuket at Suvarnabhumi. Bangkok Airways and One-Two-GO have similar plans. Thai AirAsia said it would not move unless it could shift both its international and domestic operations. Nok Air and PB Air were undecided.[32][33]

Repair and upgrades

Airports of Thailand found that the cost of fixing 60 identified problems at the airport would be less than 1% of the total airline cost and the problems could be fixed in up to four to five years. Dr. Narupol Chaiyut, a member of a committee overseeing service problems at the new airport, estimated that 70% of the problems would be fixed within 2007. 20 of the 60 problems were successfully fixed by February 2007.[34]

Incidents

On 25 January 2007, due to work to repair cracks in the runways, incoming flights are delayed and several flights are diverted to U-Tapao International Airport for refuelling.[35]

A junta-appointed panel of engineers assigned to inspect the airport noted that damage to the airport was "minute," and "common." According to a panel member, the problem with the runways and taxiways are ruts, not cracks in the asphalt as had previously been claimed. "This is a common type of damage. You see it in airports all over the United States," said Noppodol Phien-Wej, a panel-member. A spokesman for British Airways, also said that "everything is normal," and that "we haven't heard any complaints from the staff."[36]

Specifications

Suvarnabhumi Airport layout

Costing an estimated 155 billion baht the airport has 2 parallel runways (60 m wide, 4000 m and 3700 m long) and two parallel taxiways to accommodate simultaneous departures and arrivals.[37] It has a total of 120 parking bays (51 with contact gates and 69 remote gates), with five of these capable of accommodating the Airbus A380. The main passenger terminal building, with a capacity of handling 76 flight operations per hour, co-locates the international and domestic terminals, though assigning them to different parts of the concourse. In the initial phase of construction, it will be capable of handling 45 million passengers and 3 million tonnes of cargo per year. Above the future underground rail link station and in front of the passenger terminal building is a 600-room hotel operated by Accor Group under the Novotel brand. Between the airport hotel and the terminal building are the two 5-storey car parks with a combined capacity of 5,000 cars.

Long-term plans for four runways flanking two main terminals and two satellite buildings with a combined capacity capable of handling up to 100 million passengers and 6.4 million tonnes of cargo a year are on the drawing board. The second phase of airport expansion involving the construction of a satellite building south of the main terminal is expected to begin 3 to 5 years after the completion of the first main terminal.

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Courtyard garden and massive concourse of Suvarnabhumi International Airport

Airports of Thailand PLC (AOT), the owner and operator of Suvarnabhumi Airport, announced on 21 July 2006 that a separate terminal for Low-cost carriers will be built at the airport at a cost of 600 million baht (15.8 million dollars). The budget terminal will be located near Concourse A of the main terminal. It is capable of handling 15 million passengers per year. Its operating concept will be modeled after the LCC terminals of Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Singapore Changi Airport. However, as Don Mueang has been reopened and is being used by some low-cost airlines, the necessity of a new terminal is unclear and no construction work has started.

Despite claims from the owner of the airport that the new passenger terminal building is the world's largest at 563,000 m², Hong Kong International Airport still stays number one with 570,000 m², as the airport completed expanding the existing terminal in 2004 from 550,000 m² to make room for the greatly expanded shopping mall, SkyMart, at the East Hall area. The control tower, however, is the tallest in the world at 132.2 m, topping Kuala Lumpur's by about 2 meters.

Airlines and destinations

Control tower

International Airlines (scheduled flights)

International Airlines (charter flights)

Domestic Airlines

  • Thai AirAsia (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Naratiwat, Phuket, Surat Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani)
  • Bangkok Airways (Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Krabi, Phuket, Sukhothai, Trat, Utapao-Rayong)
  • PBAir (Buriram, Lampang, Mae Hong Son, Nakhon Phanom, Nan, Roi Et, Sakon Nakhon)
  • SGA Airlines (Hua Hin)
  • Thai Airways International (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi, Phuket)

Cargo Airlines

Transportation

The dropoff area

Train

Main article: Suvarnabhumi Airport Link

The construction of the City Airport Terminal in Makkasan and a 28.6 km high-speed rail link to the new airport started in July 2005 and are planned for completion in November 2007, although this deadline, too, seems unlikely to be met. The airport express, informally known as the Pink Line and operated jointly with SRT's planned Red Line commuter service, will connect with the BTS Sukhumvit Line (Green Line, Route 1) and MRT Blue Line at Phaya Thai and Phetchaburi stations respectively, offering airport-bound passengers a fast 15-minute limited stop journey from the city.

Meanwhile, SRT provides a suburban commuter train service between Hua Takhe (the nearest station to Suvarnabhumi on the East line) and the northern suburban city of Rangsit via downtown Bangkok and the old Don Mueang Airport. The train also connects with BTS and MRT at Phaya Thai and Phetchaburi stations respectively. Passengers pay a flat fare of Bt30. A shuttle bus service linking the airport with Hua Takhe railway station is provided by BMTA for Bt15. The train service is currently not as popular as the bus service because the fact that it requires a shuttle bus connection. The service will be stopped when the Airport Express Link is completed.

Bus

The airport operates 4 airport express bus routes to downtown Bangkok. The buses are air-conditioned with ample luggage space. The fare is 150 baht for the entire route. Passengers can get on the bus on the first floor of the terminal. The four routes are as follows:

AE1 Suvarnabhumi-Silom Rd. (by expressway)
AE2 Suvarnabhumi-Khao San Rd.(by expressway)
AE3 Suvarnabhumi-Central World via Sukhumvit Rd.
AE4 Suvarnabhumi-Hua Lamphong (central Bangkok Railway Station) via Victory Monument(by expressway)

Additionally, 12 city bus routes operated by Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) serve the airport's dedicated bus terminal. City buses offer a cheaper alternative of Bt35 flat fare, compared with the airport express bus, but passengers must take a shuttle bus to the public transportation center's bus terminal before they can board the bus. The 12 routes are as follows:

549 Suvarnabhumi-Minburi-Bangkapi via Seri Thai Rd.
550 Suvarnabhumi-Happy Land
551 Suvarnabhumi-Victory Monument (by expressway)
552 Suvarnabhumi-Khlong Toei (Customs Dept.) via Onnut BTS station
552A Suvarnabhumi-Samut Prakarn (Praeksa Garage)
553 Suvarnabhumi-Samut Prakarn (Crocodile Farm Garage)
554 Suvarnabhumi-Rangsit via Don Mueang and Ram Indra Rd. (by expressway)
555 Suvarnabhumi-Rangsit via Don Mueang and Central Plaza LadPhrao (by expressway)
556 Suvarnabhumi-Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal via Democracy Monument and Khaosan Rd.(by expressway)
557 Suvarnabhumi-Wong Wian Yai (The Great Circle)
558 Suvarnabhumi-Central Plaza Rama II
559 Suvarnabhumi-Future Park Rangsit via Dream World (by expressway)

There are also direct long-distance services to Pattaya and Nong Khai operated by the Transport Company.

All of the city buses and inter-city buses are air-conditioned.

Taxi

The taxis stand for departures is located at the lowest level of the street in front of the terminal

Metered taxis are available outside the exit on the 1st floor. There is a 50 baht surcharge on the meter. The trips to the city will cost 300 – 400 baht (plus highway tolls about 60 baht) and take 40 – 60 min. depending on traffic. Additionally, flat-fare limousine are available at Arrivals Level (2nd floor). Two limousine service are provided by Thai Royal First and the Airport of Thailand (AOT).

Car

The airport has 5 main access routes. Among these the most convenient route is via the Bangkok-Chon Buri Motorway (Highway No. 7) leading one way to the airport.

Departure tax

From February 1, 2007 the 700 Baht departure tax is now included in the flight ticket's price.

See also

References

Border between the councourse and the terminal seen from the arrival area
  1. ^ USA Today, "Bangkok's new airport opens to first commercial flights", September 15, 2006.
  2. ^ "New airport operations costly to low-cost carriers", MCOT, July 16, 2006 (retrieved July 17, 2006).
  3. ^ Some flight services will likely return the Don Muang Airport, The Nation, January 29, 2007.
  4. ^ Don Muang's fate yet to be settled
  5. ^ The Nation, Making the best out of airport debacle, 8 February 2007
  6. ^ Thailand to reopen old airport, giving Bangkok two hubs, Channel NewsAsia, 6 February 2007
  7. ^ Thailand backtracks on plan for second international airport, Channel NewsAsia, 16 February 2007
  8. ^ The Nation, Engineers unable to agree on root cause of airport cracks, 10 February 2007
  9. ^ The Nation, THAI baulks at moving to Don Muang, 15 February 2007
  10. ^ "Airport Star Ranking - 3 Star Airports". Skytrax. 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  11. ^ Handley, Paul M. (2006). The King Never Smiles. Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10682-3.
  12. ^ ThaiDay, "THAI discounts tickets for historic test flights", July 1, 2006.
  13. ^ "PM Thaksin says Suvarnabhumi Airport ready in two months", MCOT, July 29, 2006.
  14. ^ Pennapa Hongthong, Just listen to our noisy nightmare, The Nation, September 28 2006
  15. ^ Petchanet Pratruangkrai, Suchat Sritama, Exporters pan new export fees, The Nation, 27 September 2006
  16. ^ Kurt Hofmann, LH Cargo set to be first into Suvarnabhumi, ATW, 28 September 2006
  17. ^ Suchat Sritma, Touch down...into chaos, 29 September 2006
  18. ^ e-Travel Blackboard, Baggage ruffles up some feathers, but Suvarnabhumi still a success, 29 September 2006
  19. ^ The Nation, Airport shippers hit by computer failure, 2 October 2006
  20. ^ The Nation, 'Can we get to work please?', 17 February 2007
  21. ^ Bangkok Post, Distress in the tarmac, 11 March 2007
  22. ^ A Rough Takeoff for Bangkok's New Airport, TIME, January 25, 2007
  23. ^ The Nation, Engineers unable to agree on root cause of airport cracks, 10 February 2007
  24. ^ New airport's east runway to close for repairs, return to Don Muang mooted, Thai News Agency, MCOT, January 27, 2007.
  25. ^ "Bangkok airport officially unsafe", CNN, 2007-01-27
  26. ^ Bangkok Post, Suvarnabhumi runway declared safe, 12 February 2007
  27. ^ The Nation, Competent pilot wanted, 15 February 2007
  28. ^ International Herald Tribune, Thailand's airport imbroglio grows, 2 February 2007
  29. ^ Bangkok Recorder, Airport president resigns, 3 February 2007
  30. ^ ETNA, Thailand's new international airport head steps down, 2 February 2007
  31. ^ Asian Times Online, Cracks appear in Thai aviation-hub hopes, 7 February 2007
  32. ^ Use Don Muang during repairs: 2 airlines, The Nation, January 27, 2007.
  33. ^ Move to use 2 airports gets mixed reception, The Nation, January 31, 2007.
  34. ^ Bangkok Post, B1bn needed to fix terminal problems over four to five years, 16 February 2007
  35. ^ Some airlines afraid to use new airport, The Nation, January 26, 2007.
  36. ^ Bangkok Post, Suvarnabhumi: No cracks, minor damage, 2 February 2007
  37. ^ Bangkok Post, New Bangkok Airport - Now Aiming For July 2006 Opening, 2005

External links

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