The Airports of Thailand (AOT) is to speed up the second phase expansion of Suvarnabhumi Airport to 2016, one year ahead of its scheduled completion in 2017.

The Bt62.5 billion investment is being planned for the second phase, according to Transport Minister Sukampol Suwannathat. The ministry plans to strengthen Suvarnabhumi Airport’s position as the region's aviation hub.

Acting Suvarnabhumi Airport Director Somchai Sawasdipol said the expansion of Thailand's gateway would lead to AOT suffering from a lack of liquidity from 2014. The company plans to issue bonds and debentures to help solve the problem.

Sukampol said that the AOT will develop Don Mueang Airport, mainly used for domestic flights, in cooperation with Thai Airways International as a maintenance centre and aviation industry hub. However, the airport will continue to service chartered flights and private jets.

In terms of the rehabilitation works being carried out at Don Mueang Airport following this year's floods, the fixing of the eastern runway is scheduled for completion by February at a cost of Bt489 million while Bt1.25 billion is being spent to restore the western runway, which should be operational in January.

Sukampol said that the ministry has also instructed AOT to develop Phuket International Airport and has allocated a budget of Bt5.7 billion. An additional passenger terminal will be built and the three-kilometre runway will be extended by another 500-700 metres to accommodate large aircraft from Europe.

When finished in a few years from now, Phuket airport will be able to accommodate 12 million passengers per annum, nearly doubling its existing capacity of 6.5 million passengers annually.

Air traffic through Suvarnabhumi airport, which has slumped by 20% in recent weeks on the flood crisis, looks set to swing back soon, says an aviation industry leader. Passenger throughput and flight movements should begin returning to normal towards the festive season near the end of next month or in early January.

"We ought to see the traffic bouncing back shortly. Passenger sentiment is improving as Thailand dries out and concerns about Suvarnabhumi possibly flooding are gradually allayed," Marisa Pongpattanapun, chairwoman of the Airline Operators Committee (AOC), told the Bangkok Post yesterday.

The AOC has as its members the station managers of 80 international carriers operating through Thailand's gateway airport. Suvarnabhumi started seeing traffic throughput slip towards the end of last month as massive run-off from the North inundated the capital's northern suburbs.

Daily passenger volume at Suvarnabhumi, to the east of Bangkok, has dropped to 100,000 from 130,000 pre-crisis, while aircraft movements have been reduced to roughly 800 from 900 as airlines lowered capacity to match weaker demand. Total freight pushed through the airport has declined by nearly 7% to just over 3,100 tonnes, said Somchai Sawasdeepon, a senior executive vice-president of Airports of Thailand Plc, the operator of Thailand's six main airports including Suvarnabhumi.

Ms Marisa said the imminent resumption in traffic will be due to international passengers' greater confidence that Suvarnabhumi, which is protected by a 3.5-metre-high dyke, is most unlikely to be inundated _ their prime concern. The misconception that the flooded Don Mueang, Bangkok's old airport and portrayed in news photos of aircraft sitting in in floodwater, was Suvarnabhumi has also largely been dispelled, she said.

Ms Marisa credited authorities and the airline industry for working together to put out the correct information about Suvarnabhumi's status. She suggested the government become more proactive in disseminating information in order to quicken the pace of resumption.

Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, on Sunday said the international tourist flow should begin to pick up in the second half of next month.

He estimates the flood crisis will cost the country 300,000 tourists, or a mere 1.58% of the 19 million arrivals projected early this year for 2011. The loss to tourism revenue will be 15 billion baht.

Nok Air will operate flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport through January 31, as Don Mueang Airport remains closed because of the flood crisis.

The budget airline will also change flight schedules to fit passengers' needs and convenience, it said in a statement.

It maintains operations to 15 destinations: Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, Phuket, Hat Yai, Sakon Nakhon, Nan, Phrae, Roi Et, Mae Sot and Loei.

Passenger traffic through Suvarnabhumi airport is falling more noticeably as the floodwater edges ever closer to Bangkok's central business district, forcing more evacuations yesterday.

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) executives said daily passenger throughput now stands at just over 100,000 passengers, down from 130,000 in the last week of October when the threat of flooding was felt less.

"The impact is becoming more drastic, and we'll likely see the decline reach nearly 20% [year-on-year] very soon," said one executive. But as yet, no airline has cut flight frequencies.

An average of 900 scheduled takeoffs and landings occur at Suvarnabhumi, Thailand's gateway airport, each day. AoT, the state agency that operates the country's six main airports including Suvarnabhumi, said international passenger numbers have taken a plunge.

But domestic volume, boosted by flights being transferred from the inundated Don Mueang airport, which was closed on Oct 25, is holding steady.

An AoT official said passenger traffic through Suvarnabhumi was not affected last month, but a clear setback from the floods would definitely be felt this month.

AoT and government officials are working around the clock to protect Suvarnabhumi from the massive flooding that has touched 64 of Thailand's 77 provinces.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department now pegs the death toll from the disaster at 527.

The level in Lat Krabang Canal north of the airport has increased by 2 centimetres, and a branch of it in the south by 4cm. The level at the nearby Lat Krabang watergate has increased by 3cm, and at Prawet Burirom watergate by 3cm, senior airport official Suk Phuengtham said.

Airport director Somchai Sawasdiphol said the situation was under control, as the flood water surrounding the compound was between 40cm and 67cm, while the flood barriers were 3.5 metres high. The military has repeated its pledge to defend the Bang Chan and Lat Krabang industrial estates from encroaching floods. Defence Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapha said there was time left for the military to do their best. "These are two estates that have so far survived the floods. If we fail again here, we have failed right across the board," he said.

Engineering Institute of Thailand chief Thanes Weerasiri said Bang Chan was not protected by a surrounding flood barrier as Bang Chan Canal runs through it. "The best way to deal with flooding is to let the water flow as fast and in as much quantity as we can," he said.

Each factory is protected by individual floodwalls of two metres high on average. Requests for water pumps have been made to the city administration. "I cannot give a 100-per-cent guarantee that the Bang Chan estate will escape the flood waters," Thanes added.

A section of the Western Outer Ring Road is being cleared of flood water so as to link to Route 340 and provide an alternative to Rama II Road for journeys to the South. Transport Ministry permanent secretary Suphoj Samlom said cutting a flood channel through Rama II Road would be useless and deprive drivers of a viable route to the South.

Images of a Thai Airways International Airbus stranded in deep floodwater at Don Mueang airport have caused misconceptions among many people outside Thailand that Bangkok is closed to air traffic.

That has frustrated both airlines and the management of Suvarnabhumi Airport, the country's gateway, where it is business as usual and flood prevention defences are said to be very strong. They point fingers at the media, particularly international news outlets, which have made insufficient effort to tell their audiences that Thailand has two airports and that the main one is still functioning normally.

"As long as [the media] flash images of planes stranded at Don Mueang, and don't clearly state that the main airport, Suvarnabhumi, is functioning, then we will see more and more visitors shying away, adding insult to injury," said Somchai Sawasdeepon, senior executive vice-president of Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT).

Executives of Centara Hotels & Resorts, one of Thailand's largest hospitality operators, agreed that most people outside Thailand were not aware that the flooding affected only Don Mueang. However, they said that Asian tourists were already shifting to other countries and European tourists were postponing trips to unaffected areas including Phuket, Samui, Krabi and Chiang Mai.

They complained that the government, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports were not doing enough to dispel the misconception. Mr Somchai, also the acting general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, reaffirmed his confidence that the main airport was capable of dealing with floods, though he believed the likelihood of water reaching Suvarnabhumi was low.

He took journalists to inspect the flood prevention facilities at the airport on Friday. However, many photographers chose positions that resulted in images of aircraft approaching and taking off above the reservoir adjacent to the airport. Those pictures were widely circulated over the weekend. There are 3.5-metre-high polder dykes surrounding the airport. Construction of the dykes started in 1995 and was completed in 2000, which has made them very strong and capable of preventing the penetration of water.

Last week, the Department of Highways drilled the dykes to test their strength and found them to be highly secure and very capable of preventing water from the outside, if the water level is less than 3.5 metres high, he noted. Furthermore, Mr Somchai said Suvarnabhumi had a high-standard water-management system, with drainage canals all around the site to drain water into the reservoirs, which have capacity to store 4 million cubic metres of water _ four times the volume they contain now.

There are two main pump stations, each equipped with four water pumps, with ability to drain water at a rate of 12 cubic metres per second or 1 million cubic metres per day. Also, the flood-prevention dykes have made the airport a closed area, whereby water cannot flow in from the outside.

Therefore, the possibility of water leaking through drainage pipes, which has happened in many other places, is extremely remote as the pipes within Suvarnabhumi Airport are not connected to outside pipes. As well, travel to and from the airport is unaffected as the roads and the Airport Rail Link tracks are elevated above the dykes.

Suvarnabhumi International Airport is expected to stay dry during the worst floods in five decades that are now creeping towards the capital's centre, the airport's management said Friday.

"I am confident that we can keep Suvarnabhumi dry," said Somchai Sawasdeepon, acting general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, 20 kilometres east of the city centre, which has served as the main international airport for Bangkok since 2006.

The capital’s old airport, Don Mueang, 15 kilometres north of the centre, and now used only for some domestic flights, has been closed for weeks with its runway currently under a metre of water. Bangkok’s north and north-east suburbs have been inundated by runoff from Thailand’s central plains which were flooded by the swollen Chao Phraya River last month.

The water is seeping through Bangkok en route to the Gulf of Thailand, with government authorities trying desperately to keep the inundation out of the centre of the capital by diverting the flow to the east and west of the metropolis. "Our water management system at Suvarnabhumi is separate from Bangkok’s, so we can control it," Somchai said.

The airport is protected by 3.5-metre dyke surrounding the complex, which also includes a system of drainage canals and reservoirs with a storage capacity of 4 million cubic metres. The reservoirs’ current level is 1 million cubic metres, Somchai said. The airport is connected to Bangkok by elevated roads and a train track.

Somchai said that passenger traffic at Suvarnabhumi Airport had increased 10 per cent in October, boosted mainly by a 14.5 per cent jump in domestic traffic as Bangkokians fled the city. International passengers were up 3.5 per cent, but started to fall off in late October.

"After October 24, arrivals from some Asian markets such as China, Japan and India started to decline," Somchai said. Thailand has set a target of 19 million tourist arrivals this year, but is now unlikely to achieve this as a result of the floods, which have claimed 437 lives over the past three months and caused billions of dollars in damage.

During the first nine months, some 14.4 million foreign tourists visited Thailand, up 27 per cent year-on-year, according to the Kasikorn Research Centre, a private think tank.

Bangkok's Northern Bus Terminal at Mor Chit might be relocated to Suvarnabhumi airport if it is flooded, Transport Company managing director Wutichart Kanlayanamit said on Thursday.

The situation was still being assessed, he said. A close watch would be kept this evening. If the flooding severely affected the bus terminal's daily operation, a contingency evacuation and relocation plan was in place.

‘’We have looked at alternative sites, including Suvarnabhumi airport, for the relocation of Mor Chit if it is heavily flooded,’’ Mr Wutichart said. The final decision to move, if needed, would be based on location and facilities to ensure good service and convenience for travellers.

The surging floodwater has inundated some roads leading to Mor Chit, causing problems for travellers trying to reach the terminal. Any decision to relocate would take about half a day to implement, Mr Wutichart said.

The Transport Co earlier relocated the flooded Southern Bus Terminal, Sai Tai Mai, to Holland Brewery on Rama II Road. Many passengers have complained that the place is too small and lacks toilet facilities.

Suvarnabhumi Airport is "highly confident" its flood-prevention scheme - with its 3.5-metre-high, 37-metre-wide earth dyke and sheet piles - will be effective. Airports of Thailand senior executive vice-president Somchai Sawasdeepon said the airport also has a team of officers to monitor water levels at six flood gates, including Lat Krabang, Saen Saeb and Samrong. Airlines at the airport are being notified of water levels every three hours to ensure smooth aviation operations in Thailand despite the flooding in Don Mueang Airport.

On Monday, the airport accommodated 945 flights, a new daily record since its opening. Somchai yesterday briefed Japanese experts - brought in by the Japan International Credit Agency (JICA) which funded the airport's construction - on the flood defences, including its cooperation with agencies like the Highways Department and the Royal Irrigation Department.

The team of Japanese experts also received a briefing from the Flood Relief Operations Centre as well as Bangkok Metro, the subway operator.

The airport has prepared giant pumps with a capacity to pump 1 million cubic metres of water per day, as well as other protective materials. The airport is also reducing water levels in floodways around the airport to only 25 per cent of their capacity.

"Experts from Singapore and Germany have inspected our protection system and also the materials we have used to lower water levels," said Somchai. Somchai added that canals around Suvarnabhumi, including those in Lat Krabang, Bang Chalong and Nong Ngu Hao, were dredged before the construction of the airport. A sewer under the Bang Na-Trat highway has been dredged to allow water from Prawet Burirom canal to be drained into the Samrong canal, Somchai said.

Somchai said a new canal for draining flood water around the airport has been dug with the capacity to drain 100 cubic metres of water per second. "The new drainage canal increases the capacity of water draining and I believe we will have no problems of flooding at the airport. The water will be drained eastwards via Prince Chaiyanuchit canal," Somchai pointed out. He said the airport would not be affected by high sea tides because it is ten kilometres from the coast. However, he was worried about overflowing flood water from Saen Saeb canal into Prawet Burirom canal because the airport is only 1 km away from Prawet Burirom canal.

He said if flood water overflowed from Prawet Burirom canal, it would move to the northern side of the airport. Nevertheless, the flood water would be blocked by the flood barriers at the airport, which include a 3.5-metre-high embankment. "If the overflowing floodwater is not higher than 1 metre, I believe our 3.5-metre-high embankment can prevent it from entering the airport," Somchai said.

Meanwhile, Oriental Thai Airlines Chief Executive Officer Manasnan Tantiprasongchai said 9-10 parked aircraft are under water at Don Mueang Airport. Most are MD aircraft and all are waiting to be sold. She said not all the aircraft have been damaged by flood water, which has entered only some of the planes. "We parked the aircraft there more than a month ago and we'll not move them out as there's no place to park them. It's also costly going in for relocation," she said. She added that Oriental Thai operates eight aircraft at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Six aircraft are being utilised for domestic services and the other two for international services.

Suvarnabhumi Airport places high confidence in its flood-prevention scheme, with the 3.5-metre-high and 37-metre wide earthern dyke and sheet piles to slow the currents as well as other preventive measures.

Airports of Thailand Senior Executive Vice President Somchai Sawasdeepon said that the airport also has a team of officers to monitor water levels at six flood gates including Lat Krabang, Saen Saeb and Samrong. Airlines operating at the airport are notified of water level every three hours, to ensure smooth aviation operations in Thailand despite the flooding in Don Mueang Airport.

Yesterday, the airport accommodated 945 flights, a new daily record since the opening. Somchai yesterday briefed Japanese experts, brought in by Japan International Credit Agency which funded the airport’s construction, on the preparation steps. JICA’s experts were informed about the airport’s cooperation with all related agencies like the Highways Department and the Royal Irrigation Department.

The team of Japanese experts also received a briefing from the Flood Relief Operations Centre as well as Bangkok Metro Plc, the subway operator.

ABU DHABI // Thailand's ambassador has insisted it is safe to visit his country, despite a UAE government warning to the contrary. Somchai Charanasomboon's comments come after the Chao Phraya river, Bangkok's main waterway, burst its banks on Saturday, inundating several city suburbs and the domestic airport. The country's worst floods in almost 60 years have killed 381 people since July, and wiped out a quarter of its rice crop. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned citizens against travel to Thailand. Mr Charanasomboon said the warning had been issued after a "telex" from the UAE embassy in Bangkok. However, he said: "I insist that Bangkok is still safe, especially for people who are travelling to Suvarnabhumi International Airport. "The airport we see in the news is the domestic airport, and all those flights have been moved to the other one." He added that travel to most other parts of Thailand was also safe.

"If they want to travel to other cities like Chiang Mai or Phuket, it's very easy to take domestic flights," he said. Comchai Sukkhasantikul, the general manager of Thai Airways in Dubai, said many travellers had cancelled their tickets due to a perception that the flooding continued. "We've seen 150 passenger cancellations between October 24 to the 26, which was the time when there was the worst flood. But it was also around the same time the Foreign Ministry issued their warning against travel to Thailand, because most of our passengers are Emirati," said Mr Sukkhasantikul. Thailand is an increasingly popular destination for Emiratis, many of whom visit for tourism - including medical tourism.

According to Mr Charanasomboon, the number of Emiratis travelling to Thailand has increased by 30 per cent in the past year. In 2010, he said, more than 140,000 Emiratis visited Thailand, mostly for medical treatment. "There is no problem for people going to Thailand to get operations. It is still going on extensively." Mr Charanasomboon said that despite the floods he was still receiving many requests from Emiratis for 90-day extensions on their 30-day visas upon arrival.

"They like Thailand very much. One reason is for medical purposes. But they also like it because Thai people are so friendly. In Thailand we live in peace." Simon D'Mello, the managing director of Dubai Leisure Holidays, said he had not seen a large drop in sales of tickets to Thailand. "The travel warning has affected our business, but not much," he said. "Middle-class passengers will go if they want to go, no matter what - it is more the high-class passengers who are postponing flights."

An official from an Abu Dhabi travel agency connected to Thai Airways also confirmed that numbers had not been greatly affected. "The government has announced that it's not safe to travel to Thailand, but our flights haven't stopped," said the employee, who asked not to be named. The ambassador said his government expected the flooding to be over in four to six weeks, and it would soon release a three-phase relief and recovery plan. It is expected to comprise comprehensive infrastructure rehabilitation, including the removal and transportation of excess material, the construction of water dykes, the provision of temporary shelter for flood victims and the installation of water pumps.

"The water in some parts is not safe, so we have to improve our water quality to prevent pandemic diseases and to reduce the possibility of critical conditions," he said. Much of Bangkok is under water, including popular tourist sites such as the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. "The plan is also to restore the damage of our historical sites. The German government has already offered to help us," said Mr Charanasomboon. He also hopes the UAE government will contribute, and spoke yesterday to Ahmed Abdullah Al Musalli, the director of Asian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about financial aid.

"[Mr Al Musalli] told me that the [UAE] embassy in Bangkok has submitted a recommendation to the UAE government to send help to Thailand," he said. "The UAE is normally very generous. If they will give any assistance, we will be happy for it." The Thai prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, issued a statement on Saturday saying the receeding floods north of Bangkok had reduced the threat to the city. No one at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs could be reached for comment, and a spokesman at the UAE Embassy in Bangkok declined to comment.

Australian airline, Qantas has announced that passengers who have been stranded in Thailand's flood-stricken capital, Bangkok will be flown out on a Qantas flight to Sydney on Monday night. About 50 of the 300 passengers on flight QF2 from London, which landed in Bangkok on Saturday and went no further, were still waiting for flights out of the Thai capital. The remaining passengers were expected to leave for Sydney on Monday night on a Qantas jet at 5.50pm. The other passengers have already left the city via other airlines.

Qantas flight 1 was also expected to depart Bangkok at a 12.45pm on Tuesday morning, bound for London. All passengers who were affected by the cancellation of Saturday's flight have already flown out on alternative carriers. Bangkok remains under a travel warning due to flooding surrounding the city but flights leaving the main Suvarnabhumi International Airport have been unaffected.

The State Railway of Thailand, or SRT, has voiced confidence that the Airport Rail Link project, which transports travelers and commuters between central Bangkok and the Suvarnabhumi Airport is ready for full operations beginning TOMORROW.

On its first day, a luggage check-in system at Makkasan city air terminal delivering luggage directly to the airport will be available for travelers. For those who seek to check in and transport their luggage to the airport can do so 3 to 13 hours prior to their boarding time.

During the first stage, however, the service is available only for express line users, who are flying Thai International and Bangkok Airways. About rail fares, express line users will be charged 150 baht for non-stop service from Makkasan terminal to the Airport and city line users will be charged between 15 and 45 baht based on distance. The services will be available from 6 AM to midnight everyday.

Earlier, Transport Ministry Permanent Secretary Supoj Sublhom ordered authorities to speed up construction and equipment installation and have it finished as scheduled by TOMORROW. In a related development, a skywalk connecting Makkasan terminal to the Petchburi underground Station is under construction and is expected to be finished Midyear.

Suvarnabhumi Rail Link will begin check-in services for Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways & Lufthansa, at Makkasan Station on 4th January.....More News to Follow

Source: Bangkok Post:Online News, Transport 23/08/2010

Source: Bangkok Post:Online News 22/08/2010

To ensure smooth operations, State Railways of Thailand (SRT) Governor, Yutthana Thapcharoen, inspected trains and other facilities whose construction began in mid-2005, for he wanted to make sure that nothing goes wrong.

The ordinary service, known as the city line, would charge a fare of 15 baht and would make eight stops along the Phaya Thai-Suvarnabhumi airport route. The express line would run non-stop from Makkasan to the airport and would charge 100 baht. He said both services would run from 6am to midnight with a train leaving every 15 minutes.

The City Line will make eight stops across the capital starting from Phayathai before heading to the airport. Its fares start at 15 baht.

BANGKOK, August 10 - Thailand and China are expected to open talks this month on plans to jointly invest in Thailand's new standard-gauge rail link and high-speed train projects

A panel chaired by Korbsak Sabhavasu, secretary-general to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, yesterday set up two subcommittees to work out a feasibility study for the projects.

The Thai government wants to invest jointly with China in a high-speed rail line from Suvarnabhumi airport to Rayong on the Eastern Seaboard through Pattaya and Laem Chabang, and a standard-gauge link from China through Vietnam, Laos and Nong Khai in Thailand's northeast to connect with Malaysia and Singapore. A new standard-gauge rail line from Nong Khai to the southern border with Malaysia is expected to cost 300 billion baht. The line would link at Nong Khai to a line China plans to build through Vietnam and Laos.

Mr Korbsak said the high-speed rail project linking Suvarnabhumi and Rayong was estimated to cost 30 billion baht. He said the two subcommittees were required to complete their studies in two weeks. Officials from the two countries are required to complete a draft memorandum of understanding ahead of Mr Abhisit's visit to China scheduled for early next month.

The new rail line would benefit travel through the region as the train network is expected to be built from Kunming through Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Malaysia to connect with Singapore. The tourism industry would benefit greatly from the new network, Mr Korbsak said. He said the 1,000-kilometre line in Thailand would be developed along the existing State Railway of Thailand track and would take about three years to build.

Trains on the new line would run at 200 kilometres an hour compared with the SRT average of 60km/h. The investment is in addition to 170billion baht earmarked for upgrading the SRT's services and the speed of its trains, Mr Korbsak said. The SRT project is aimed at improving safety standards and increasing speeds on its one metre-gauge lines to between 80km/h and 100km/h from the present 60km/h. Mr Korbsak said a feasibility study for the high-speed train from Bangkok to Rayong would go ahead even if Thailand failed to sign a deal with China.

The long-awaited opening of the Airport Rail Link on Aug 23 will substantially enhance the convenience of visiting Bangkok but a number of critical missing links impede connectivity with the city's mass-transit systems.

Hotels in the vicinity of the Rail Link stations and terminals at Phya Thai, Rajaprarop and Makkasan will gain a significant competitive advantage, especially in the Rajadamri area, as well as those along Phetchaburi, Asok and Rachadaphisek roads.

Providing easy access right under the Suvarnabhumi terminal, the Rail Link is smooth and efficient. The cars are spacious with plenty of room for luggage. Visitors will also enjoy panoramic views of Bangkok, including greenery, housing estates, temples, mosques, malls and office towers.

But at least three problems will impede what would otherwise have been a seamless flow of passengers between the Rail Link, the BTS SkyTrain and the MRT underground rail line as they commute from the airport to various destinations, and vice versa: