Interim Certificate Expires, Airport Continues To Operate
These are not the best of days for
those associated with Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi International
Airport.
Insult to injury came again on Saturday, when aviation
authorities refused to extend an interim international safety
certificate to the airport, even as runway and tarmac repairs
continue. The airport can, however, continue to operate without the
license.
The airport has been embroiled in numerous scandals during its
five-year construction... and since opening last September,
problems surfaced ranging from an inadequate number of toilets, to
taxiway cracks extending to the runway. Probes are also being
carried out into a number of corrupt deals related to the facility,
according to the Associated Press.
On Thursday, several incoming flights were diverted to another
airport about 125 miles away after debris was found on a
runway.
Cracks at 25 separate locations made it impossible to use 11 out
of 51 air bridges for boarding aircraft, a major inconvenience to
passengers who now need to take buses to and from their planes,
said Transport Minister Thira Hao-Charoen after an inspection
visit.
Somchai Sawasdeepon, the airport's general manager, said the
airport also has yet to set up a safety committee, as required by
the International Civil Aviation Organization, because authorities
are "busy resolving other problems."
Sawasdeepon said the issue will be discussed at the next board
meeting, noting he was confident the certificate will be renewed
after the establishment of the safety committee.
Local newspapers reported that some foreign pilots raised
concerns about safety issues at the Suvarnabhumi, but Sawasdeepon
said those concerns were not raised at Friday's meeting of airline
representatives.
However, one senior Thai captain said told The Nation newspaper,
"If I were a foreign pilot, how could I trust that I would be given
the right instructions when I had to fly in and out of an airport
without international recognition? And I would be particularly
concerned if I had to deal with disruptive weather or other
emergencies. I don't know who has to bear responsibility in the
event a wrong decision is made."
The International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) requires that international airports
hold an Aerodrome Certificate, aimed at standardizing global
airport operations. Suvarnabhumi continues to operate without the
certificate because it has yet to incorporate that requirement into
law.
Suvarnabhumi -- which has been bogged down since 1960, according
to Thaipro.com, with allegations of corruption and mismanagement
-- will be the country's only airport capable of handling the
555-seat Airbus A380. National carrier Thai Airlines has six of the
mammoth jets on order.