BANGKOK, Thailand (30 Jan 2007) -- Bangkok's showcase international airport, which opened just four months ago amid an avalanche of hype - and hopes that it would become the foremost regional hub, rivalling Singapore and Kuala Lumpur - is to be partially shut for urgent repairs. The embarrassing fiasco over Suvarnabhumi - which means "golden land" - was forced on Thailand's transport ministry after more than 100 cracks appeared in the runways and taxiways due to subsidence thought to be the result of poor drainage and shoddy materials. The £2.2bn airport that was more than 40 years in the planning was built on drained land known as Cobra Swamp and opened amid great fanfare last September, just days after prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a bloodless military coup. Mr. Thaksin had put his personal stamp on the mammoth project that boasts the world's tallest control tower and second biggest building and hoped it would reflect his soaring ambition. But the airport, designed to cater for 45 million passengers annually, was mired in corruption allegations that critics contend explain its disastrous shortcomings. Next week the transport minister, Theera Haocharoen, is to ask the military-appointed cabinet to agree to transfer some flights to the mothballed Don Muang airport for up to six months while the repairs at Suvarnabhumi are carried out. Domestic operators with no connections for international flights are to be offered the opportunity to return to the old airport in Bangkok's northern suburbs in an effort to reduce Suvarnabhumi's traffic by almost a third. Thailand's interim government ordered an investigation into the scale of the problems after a number of flights were last week diverted to an old American B52 base at U-Tapao, south of Bangkok. The four passenger jets ran short of fuel while circling because of delays from repair work already underway at Suvarnabhumi. The committee is expected to take several weeks to identify the full magnitude of the problems. But Thai airports' authority officials have already outlined 61 design flaws set to cost £23m to remedy that will be of concern to the international visitors who will still use the terminal as a gateway to Thailand's palm-fringed southern beaches. | | Suvarnabhumi airport opened amid great fanfare last September but has been subject to problems ever since. Even Thais, who use Suvarnabhumi for domestic and international flights, are apprehensive. An opinion poll found that 16.4% believed the airport unsafe, while 48% were convinced corruption lay at the root of the steel-and-glass complex's troubles that surfaced within hours of the official opening. Inadequate baggage handling equipment immediately led to long delays and lost belongings. Since then, the complaints have steadily mounted: lifts failed to work, toilets were insufficient to meet passenger needs, female flight attendants were sexually harassed by construction workers, and last weekend a major water leak in a toilet destroyed passenger baggage. The latest difficulties surrounding the cracks to the taxiways in 25 different areas have put 11 of the airport's 51 air-bridges out of commission and severely curtailed the complex's handling capacity, forcing the airport authority's move back to the creaking old Don Muang site. SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
