Airport says runway subsidence 'just wear and tear'

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SUVARNABHUMI

Airport says runway subsidence 'just wear and tear'

Published: 7 Jul 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Somchai Sawasdeepon is insisting Thursday's subsidence on the western runway was caused by normal wear and tear.

An aircraft touches down at Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday after repairs to an area on the western runway that subsided on Thursday night. During the repairs, hundreds of flights were delayed and 11 diverted. TAWEECHAI TAWATPAKORN

But airline managers yesterday questioned if the airfield had been built with proper civil engineering techniques and high-standard construction materials.

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bkk-farang
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Discussion 9 : 07 Jul 2012 at 07.239
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I guess the runways are constructed like any other road or footpath in this country: After construction is finished all looks good and according to Thai logic all is fine because it looks fine. But it does not take long before problems appear and then everybody has this “how could anyone have known” attitude.
It’s easy to find on the internet lots of pictures and drawings about street and runway construction and they all show that there are many different layers beneath the surface which have to be constructed well so that the whole system works well – even after years of usage.
But I guess some politicians and managers decided why spent all the money on constructions layers under the ground which nobody can see...
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geoffo
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Discussion 8 : 07 Jul 2012 at 07.158
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D7 , If it was such a piddling area do you really think the runway would have been closed. In a day or two we will learn the full extent of the problem.

Anyway , we better be careful what we say, the last time someone criticized the airport , the man who lives far away sued the complainer.
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bkposter
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Discussion 7 : 07 Jul 2012 at 06.457
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"An area of 3,600 sq cm (60cm by 60cm) at the northern part of the western runway was found to have subsided by 5cm about 8pm on Thursday night."

Wow talk about a large area...that is about the area needed for a child to stand on. And this massive area of concrete has settled a sum total of almost 5 cm in 6 years...must have been corruption that caused the other 25,000,000,000 sq centimeters to not to have settled the same rate. Is this headline news?
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ricardofel
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Discussion 6 : 07 Jul 2012 at 06.086
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Typical sub-standard construction by contractors.......quality control and oversight in Thailand for any construction work in non-existent.
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brilliant
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Discussion 5 : 07 Jul 2012 at 05.505
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Subsidence issues began immediately upon the airport opening. When a project such as this was built at breakneck speed to satisfy the ego of one man as well as fill his pockets, of course you're going to have shoddy materials and crappy results.
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falangsur
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Discussion 4 : 07 Jul 2012 at 05.394
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Thai officials need to realize that in these situations they are speaking to both a Thai audience and an international one. The Thai audience is accepting of incompetence in their leadership and has a "no problem" part of its culture. The international audience will be far less accepting of incompetence when it comes to endangering their citizenry with shoddy workmanship on an international airport. Combine this with the recent radar "snaffu" and the long standing other examples of bad workmanship (leaky ceilings, overflowing toilets/plumbing) and there is a big problem facing the country if they do not fix this and fast. God forbid a crash occurs - a sinking runway certainly could have caused one......
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justfacts
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Discussion 3 : 07 Jul 2012 at 04.373
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Not sure what bothers me more the problem or the fact that the problem was solved by shutting down the runway at 8:30 and repairs complete and runway opened at 9:00. and by the way Somchai
normal wear and tear when properly monitered is called maintenance work, not emergency shutting down of runways.In 58 years I have logged over a million miles and have never been diverted because of emergency runway repair any where in the world.With all the problems recently I wonder who will be the first to pull out of flying here
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lookmoo
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Discussion 2 : 07 Jul 2012 at 04.372
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How many times does LAX, TXL or LHR close runways every year?? I'm sure they do but... not nearly as many times (per flight) as BKK.

Constructing an airport on a swamp requires expertise that few countries have. As the design policy was to exclude foreign experts and material,.. Thai engineers, normally engaged in dirt-road construction, had to do their best.

To fix this issue Thailand need to use the expertise that is available regardless if they are Thai or not..
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spiceman
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Discussion 1 : 07 Jul 2012 at 04.071
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Bad location, and bad construction are now finally catching up with Suvarnabhumi Airport! Back to Don Muang Airport, which has been in use for 40 years without a sinking runway!
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Airport says runway subsidence 'just wear and tear' | Bangkok Post: news