Airport Runway Delays

[Blueskytoday]

Read news reports that from June 11th, one of the runways at the airport
will only be used for departures, causing delays at the airport...
Anyone know this is/has already happened??



Thanks for your replies

[anonone]

Yes, the runway repair work has already started. Seems only minor disruption so far, though one United Airlines flight had to divert to Don Muang...

The runway under repair can still be used for narrow body aircraft...only the wide bodies are denied use of that runway.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/298273/delays-from-runway-shutdown-mild

[fountainhall]

The runway under repair can still be used for narrow body aircraft . . .
But only for take-offs - not landings.

My concern is that the work is scheduled to take 8 weeks. When that is finished, will the AOT then close the west runway for yet another 8 weeks? Whoever heard of a major international airport with two runways having to suspend normal operations for such a long period of time? I haven't. When I arrived after midnight last Wednesday. I could see no lights on the east runway. I wonder if that means they don't work at night?

[atri1666]

Came back 15th from Chiang Mai and we had around 30 min. delay because of waiting.

[fountainhall]

My flight from Hong Kong had a 15-minute delay on departure (due to inability of BKK to provide a landing slot), and then a 30-minute delay on arrival when the aircraft was stacked twice prior to landing. Then there was a 10-minute delay on the taxiway as departing planes proceeded in front of us on to the same runway. But better than first being stacked, then diverted to Don Mueang and waiting there on the ground for 30 minutes or more before returning!

I'm curious, though. That United aircraft must have been stacked for almost an hour if it was close to running out of fuel. Why did the airport authority not delay just a couple of take-offs to permit the United plane to jump the queue and land? Why have the drama of its flying on to Don Mueang? That makes no sense to me!

[blueboy]

Just got back from Samui, flight out was 2 hours late, and 40 mins late on return.
The west runway is half ripped, and only smaller aircrafts can use it for take off, east runway is used for all other take off and landings. It is extraordinary that the runway has only lasted 6 years - I wonder if the same company has go the job to re-tarmac?

[fountainhall]

It's sometimes difficult working out east from west when take-offs and landings can be from both north and south depending on the wind - unlike Don Mueang when all flights came in and took off from the north end. The present repairs are to the east runway. What is so extraordinary is that they require the runway to be out of action to all aircraft, except for single aisle take-offs, for 8 whole weeks. And once that east one is finished, they then start on the west for another 8 weeks! Has anyone ever heard of any other major international 2-runway airport closing even for a few days for runway resurfacing? There has to be something more seriously wrong with the runways that we are not being told about.

As if that was not bad enough, all the media today have reports on the radar breakdown yesterday evening for almost one whole hour. And for some inexplicable reason, Don Mueang's radar operates on the same circuit. So both airports were 'down'. And, once again, as if that was not bad enough, there were NO staff on duty at the back-up power unit! So incoming aircraft were being farmed out to Chiang Mai, Phuket, U-Tapao, Kuala Lumpur and Phnom Penh. Meanwhile at BKK, the situation on the ground was chaotic.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2 ... varnabhumi (http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/299292/blackout-threatens-hub-status-of-suvarnabhumi)

As a frequent flyer in and out of BKK, I have said it before and will say it again: those who run the airport are incompetents. They should have been fired a long time ago and experts who know how to run an airport efficiently and safely brought in. It's no coincidence that passengers are losing confidence in BKK. In the latest Skytrax Poll, it has dropped to 25th from 13th in 2011. In 2010 it was 10th. The Immigration problems and now the runway closures and last night's radar fiasco will soon see it, perhaps, dropping off the radar altogether :evil4: