reader Posted June 5, 2018 Posted June 5, 2018 From Bangkok Post Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) is set to inject 2.5 billion baht to replace all 700,000 square metres of asphalt with concrete on all the runways at Suvarnabhumi airport to permanently solve the threat of "soft spots" that have been reported there. he announcement comes after the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA), which represents over 100,000 pilots and flight engineers in almost 100 countries, issued an alert last month specifying the risks of operating at Thailand's largest international airport. The main risk was the discovery of several "soft spots" on taxiways, taxi lanes and aircraft stands at Suvarnabhumi. Flight crews and ground service providers have reportedly encountered these structurally unsound spots since 2008. It was constructed over a large swamp known as Nong Ngu Hao, or "cobra swamp", since it was reportedly a habitat for snakes before it was built. This has resulted in a high water table below the airport. The airport's 62.5-billion-baht revamp project will involve the construction of a smaller concourse, an aircraft parking lot and an underground tunnel linking the main passenger terminal to the concourse using an automated people mover electric train network. Mr Nitinai said that construction is set to be completed by November 2019. The new concourse, however, should be open by the middle of 2020, as system testing will take around six months to carry out, he added.https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1479417/airport-soft-spots-to-get-concrete-fix Quote
PeterRS Posted June 6, 2018 Posted June 6, 2018 Stand by for very considerable flight delays during the more than a year this exercise will take. After all, the revised design capacity of the airport is 45 million passengers It was supposed to handle all flights in and out of Bangkok but is now handling 60 million plus. Thank goodness Don Mueang was not scrapped because it is now handling 38 million. Funny thing is. After IATA complained publicly about the asphalt holes at the parking gates these were supposed to have been fixed. Seems either they were not or more have opened up. Also the article says runway surfaces should be replaced every 8-10 years. If I recall correctly, the airport has been open since 2016 and I recall only partial resurfacing since then. Not sure Id be happy landing at BKK now in an A380. Quote
Guest Posted June 6, 2018 Posted June 6, 2018 They should have put a third runway in before resurfacing the existing runways was necessary. Quote
