Residents living nearby the airport continue to complain of extreme noise pollution from planes taking off and landing and are calling for the AoT to buy their houses so they can resettle in quieter areas.

The residents said they would submit a petition to the AoT today, calling on the airport operator to adopt a runway management scenario that reduces the impact of noise on local communities and speeds up compensation payments to eligible recipients under an agreement signed by the AoT, the affected villagers, and the Treasury Department.

The villagers also called on the AoT to look into the noise impact on communities living outside the official noise-hazard zone and come up with proper assistance, since they are also suffering from severe noise pollution from aircraft.

''We have to do it because the AoT has never shown sincerity in tackling the problem. The AoT has forced us to do such a thing,'' said Prasert Boonkaeo, spokesman of the alliance of 32 communities affected by aircraft noise.

The villagers, from 32 communities around the airport in Samut Prakan's Bang Phli district, have threatened to disturb air traffic by launching balloons into the sky above the airport to protest the AoT's failure to follow through with compensation and noise pollution mitigation schemes.

''We will cancel the balloon operation if the AoT shows their sincerity in solving the problem. Solve the problem, and you will see no balloons in the sky this Friday,'' he told yesterday's press conference.

The plan is worrying the authorities, who fear the balloons could cause an accident or, at the very least, damage the reputation of Suvarnabhumi airport.

Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um also warned the residents that they would be breaking the law if they went ahead with the action.

Mr Prasert said the villagers' finding that the AoT had quietly redrawn the map of the official noise-hazard zone, reducing the size of the area, was the last straw.

Under the new mapping of the noise-hazard zone, approved by the cabinet on May 29, a number of households would be excluded from the compensation list, he said.

The May 29 cabinet resolution also states that the AoT will buy back only houses suffering from noise of over 40 on the Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF) scale, or over 75 decibels. This is contrary to the Nov 21, 2006 resolution, under which the buy-back scheme covers houses affected by 35-40 on the NEF.

NEF is the official method used for aircraft noise assessment.

Wanchart Manathamsombat, the head of a committee representing some 32 communities, said as a result of the new noise-hazard mapping and the May 29 cabinet resolution, around 20% of households previously listed on the compensation list would be disqualified.

The representatives have already lodged a complaint with the Administrative Court, seeking the revocation of the May 29 resolution.

Meanwhile, a villager from Prapawan housing estate, around seven kilometers from the northern end of the western runway, claimed that the roof of his house was damaged by an object believed to have fallen from an aircraft on Aug 28.

The object, which was a plastic bottle containing an oil-like substance, was sent to the AoT for verification to see if it had fallen from an aircraft.

undeterred not letting something stop you from doing something frustrated feeling annoyed and impatient because you cannot do or achieve what you want vowed made a serious promise comply to obey a rule, order, etc. resettle to go and live in a new place or to help people to do so submit a petition to give a written request signed by many people to someone in authority so that they can consider it scenario a description of how things might happen in the future impact effect compensation something, especially money, that someone gives you because they have damaged something that you own or hurt you in some way eligible able to do or have something because you have the right qualifications

recipients people who receive something hazard a thing that can be dangerous or cause damage sincerity honesty; saying only what you really think or feel tackling making a determined effort to deal with a difficult problem alliance an agreement between groups, political parties, countries, etc. to work together to achieve a particular aim launching starting an activity mitigation making something less unpleasant, serious, etc. scheme a plan or system for doing or organizing something reputation the opinion people have about what something is like the last straw the last in a series of bad events that makes it impossible for you to accept a situation any longer

cabinet the group of government ministers that makes or approves government policy excluded not included resolution a formal statement of an opinion agreed by a committee or a council, especially by means of a vote decibel a unit for measuring how loud a sound is contrary different from; against assessment the act of judging or forming an opinion about something disqualified prevented from doing or receiving something because you do not have the right qualifications or have broken a rule, law, etc. lodged made a formal statement about something to a public organization or authority revocation the act of canceling something, such as a rule or law verification checking that something is true or accurate