Blackout threatens hub status of Suvarnabhumi

News > Local News

Blackout threatens hub status of Suvarnabhumi

Thousands of travellers hit, airlines seek payout

Published: 23 Jun 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Bangkok's reputation as a key regional air hub could face a major threat following Thursday's breakdown of an airport control tower which affected nearly 50 flights.

The simultaneous breakdown of both the main and back-up power supplies paralysed the radar system which guides flights through Suvarnabhumi International Airport for an hour.

A total of 49 aircraft were affected - 21 take-offs and 15 landings were delayed, while 13 flights were rerouted or returned to their departure point.

This article is older than 60 days, which we reserve for our premium members only.You can subscribe to our premium member subscription, here.

Forum

Your comments

veracity
Post : 47
Send message

Discussion 61 : 25 Jun 2012 at 01.4761
Post this to my Facebook
Just another reason NASA should be at U-tapao ..
They have aircraft similar to the AWAC. They could have been in the air and prevented the serious
49 Aircraft traffic blunder whithin minutes controlling the whole airspace in and around Thailand.
Thailand was lucky this time, Next time ???
Like dislike 3 people liked / 1 people disliked this comment
samut
Post : 649
Send message

Discussion 60 : 24 Jun 2012 at 14.3860
Post this to my Facebook
Ringmaster; people might forget the occupation of the airport which was unlawful for sure but they will not forget the red’s unlawful occupation of Bangkok which has taken many life’s.
Like dislike 7 people liked / 6 people disliked this comment
samut
Post : 649
Send message

Discussion 59 : 24 Jun 2012 at 14.1159
Post this to my Facebook
“The radar breakdown may be the longest in the world for 45 years”; this seams than to be considered a record and therefore in the Guinness book of records!
Like dislike 9 people liked / 2 people disliked this comment
ringmaster
Post : 744
Send message

Discussion 58 : 24 Jun 2012 at 00.0158
Post this to my Facebook
brilliant D#56 I never blamed the PAD for the latest blackout. My point was that Suvarnabhumi will, for a long time, be associated in a negative way with the PAD's takeover in 2010. Like a shadow, it will always be there. The PAD is a taint.
Like dislike 4 people liked / 11 people disliked this comment
kaweeka
Post : 224
Send message

Discussion 57 : 23 Jun 2012 at 21.3457
Post this to my Facebook
An honest mistake! Being so concious, the airport management ordered the UPS system off-line in order to keep the battery-powered system from draining electricity. They simply failed to follow the instructions of the UPS manufacturer that states the system must be connected to the power grid so that the battery can be kept fully charged as it is slowly drained in order to keep its operational status. Unfortunately they missed on the smallest of details ... Must be Thaksin's fault anyway, so who cares who's fault it really is.
Like dislike 12 people liked / 0 people disliked this comment
brilliant
Post : 1,446
Send message

Discussion 56 : 23 Jun 2012 at 21.1356
Post this to my Facebook
ringmaster - "The memory of this blackout incident will fade over time but Suvarnabhumi will always have the taint of the PAD takeover in 2008. Come to think of it, the word "taint" is appropriate with anything associated with the PAD."

I was just waiting to see which red shirt apologist would blame PAD. Of course. And Jatuporn will be on the news tomorrow saying PAD somehow sabotaged this 4 years ago and he will provide a videotape soon!
But using your logic, the entire city of Bangkok is "tainted" by the reds.
Like dislike 20 people liked / 3 people disliked this comment
bikeme
Post : 1,105
Send message

Discussion 55 : 23 Jun 2012 at 20.5555
Post this to my Facebook
Blame could be a many fingered avenue ... design - why didn't the airport's architect specify a separate, redundant power back up, especially in SE Asia where power outages are not uncommon? ... maintenance - how often are the back up systems tested? ... bad luck - multiple systems failed at the same time.

Fortunately no one was hurt, no planes crashed and only some passengers were inconvenienced. One incident like this will not ruin Suvarnabhumi's reputation, but the AOT needs to make sure it doesn't happen again as the second time is not an charm.
Like dislike 6 people liked / 3 people disliked this comment
dao
Post : 4,631
Send message

Discussion 54 : 23 Jun 2012 at 19.4054
Post this to my Facebook
Focus on fixing the problem and not your hub status or how tall your tower is .Nobody cares .
Like dislike 20 people liked / 1 people disliked this comment
mrcoop
Post : 46
Send message

Discussion 53 : 23 Jun 2012 at 19.2553
Post this to my Facebook
Just a thought, but why did the emergency diesel generator not cut in ? Surely this is a must for important issues such as communications. I find it difficult to believe it would take an hour to manually start it. I would also expect there to be more than one form of connection to the main electrical grid.
Like dislike 22 people liked / 0 people disliked this comment
ringmaster
Post : 744
Send message

Discussion 52 : 23 Jun 2012 at 19.1952
Post this to my Facebook
The memory of this blackout incident will fade over time but Suvarnabhumi will always have the taint of the PAD takeover in 2008. Come to think of it, the word "taint" is appropriate with anything associated with the PAD.
Like dislike 8 people liked / 15 people disliked this comment

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next Last

Blackout threatens hub status of Suvarnabhumi | Bangkok Post: news