50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

Bangkok airport safety issues 'must be addressed'

Download: Printable PDF Date: 20 Feb 2016 08:08 (UTC) category:
Publisher:
Bangkok airport safety issues 'must be addressed' - Airports / Routes publisher
Dana Ermolenko
Country: Thailand
Source: BBC

The airline industry has called on the Thai government to address problems at the country's main airport in Bangkok.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) says Suvarnabhumi airport has inadequate capacity and substandard taxiways.

The criticism follows safety warnings last year from another air industry organisation about Thailand's regulation and inspection of airlines.

The government has set up two bodies to oversee airports and airlines.

However, it has asked for more time to meet international standards.

Suvarnabhumi airport was opened nearly ten years ago. It is Thailand's main international gateway but Iata says it is now operating beyond its capacity, and needs to be expanded.

Foreign tourists wait for boarding in front of Thai airways aircraft at the airport in BangkokImage copyrightGetty Images

Image caption"Aviation is critical to Thailand's economic success

Backbone of tourism

"Aviation is critical to Thailand's economic success. It is the backbone of the tourism industry and provides critical global business links," Iata's director general Tony Tyler said in Bangkok.

"It is in jeopardy, however, unless key issues of safety, capacity and costs are addressed urgently."

The organisation urged the Thai authorities to fix the problem of 'soft spots' in poor quality tarmac at Suvarnabhumi airport, where airliners sometimes got stuck and had to be pulled out.

Mr Tyler said a permanent solution was needed. "There seems to be a constant resurfacing with a temporary patchwork of asphalt reinforcements. Frankly, that is not good enough.

"The runway and gate downtime that results from constantly fixing (and re-fixing) them is unacceptable.

"Moreover the situation is a safety risk. The extraordinary power that aircraft need to use around soft spots and extra-towing expose ground personnel, ground equipment and the aircraft to safety risks.

'Deeply disappointing'

He also highlighted the issue of lack of capacity at the airport. He said the Phase Two terminal expansion was badly needed and should be fast tracked.

"For runway capacity, immediate capacity increases can be achieved through addressing the "soft spots" issue which will allow existing capacity to be used fully. But a third runway will be needed eventually. So it is important that work and preparations for a three runway system continue," he added.

Thailand is already struggling to address last year's warnings from the United Nation's International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), about a shortage of inspectors to check safety procedures among Thai airlines.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) subsequently downgraded its safety rating of Thailand's aviation authority, finding that Thailand did not comply with the ICAO's safety standards.

Iata said it was "deeply disappointing" that the organisations had raised safety concerns about Thailand as a country.

It said the oversight concerns raised in both the ICAO and the FAA reports should be addressed by the Thai government "thoroughly and urgently".

The airport's operator, Airports of Thailand, has said it has come up with several measures to improve the runways using concrete and expand capacity. These are awaiting government approval.

"We have prepared short- to medium- and long-term plans to solve the problems," said Sirote Duangratana, general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport.





Recommended

Volatus Aerospace partners with Singular Aircraft to introduce FlyOx 1 heavy-lift autonomous aircraft for Canadian wildfire response

Volatus Aerospace announced the next phase of its national wildfire response initiative through a strategic partnership with Singular Aircraft, developer of the FlyOx 1 multi-mission heavy-lift autono...

Flying more sustainably with “shark skin”: Lufthansa Group tests next-generation AeroSHARK

An Airbus A319 of Lufthansa City Airlines is the world’s first test aircraft for a new generation of fuel-efficient AeroSHARK technology. Lufthansa Technik will test approximately 70 transp...

Capital Jets expands fleet with addition of Learjet 60XR

Capital Jets, an aircraft management company and 14 CFR Part 135 aircraft operator, has expanded its operations with the addition of a Learjet 60XR. Based at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Internation...

Introducing latest-generation TBM to a major business aviation market - Daher Aircraft delivers the first TBM 980 in Brazil

The first TBM 980 for a Brazilian customer delivered by Daher Aircraft, marking the introduction of this newest fast and efficient turboprop-powered airplane in a market where the TBM family continues...

Android Apps development in Riga, Latvia