passengers are complaining that the new airport is too long ,
for walking to reach their gates .
izzix@rock.com wrote:
> New airport makes a statement about modern Thailand
>
> Connie Levett, Bangkok
> January 1, 2007
>
> Thailand's shiny new state-of-the-art airport was designed to make a
> statement about this modern nation - that it is hip, sophisticated and
> ready to claim the mantle as premier regional aviation hub. In the
> three months since it opened, it has failed miserably.
>
> Allegations of substandard construction, poor design and poor
> management have dogged the airport. Initially, the issues were
> dismissed as teething problems, a result of flamboyant former leader
> Thaksin Shinawatra's insistence that the airport must open three months
> before it was really ready.
>
> In the days immediately after the September 19 military coup, just
> about anything could safely be laid at the door of Mr Thaksin and no
> one would question it.
>
> That time has passed. The three-month grace period ran out last
> Thursday and Suvarnabhumi Airport remains a shemozzle.
>
> The job of Airports of Thailand president Chotisak Asapaviriya is on
> the line, with the new Government telling him to solve the problems
> immediately or lose his job.
>
> A report released in December by an AOT-appointed working group lists a
> litany of problems. It identified lack of toilets in passenger
> terminals, passageways that are too narrow, waiting areas in the
> arrivals hall that are too small due to the extra space given to shops,
> and remote concourses that force passengers to walk too far.
>
> Some parts of the single terminal building are overheated due to poor
> air-conditioning and there are problems with the glass roofing, which
> has leaked in places.
>
> A separate investigation highlighted problems for staff such as
> insufficient lighting in the luggage sorting area and lack of
> facilities - two toilets for 1000 workers in one area.
>
> Toilets are in short supply for everyone, not just staff. There are
> plans to install at least 200 more but in existing toilets, fittings
> are already coming off the walls.
>
> More serious are the construction concerns. In the three months since
> the airport opened, a taxi-way and three parking bays have been closed
> for repairs.
>
> The airport as bold introductory statement for tourists has badly
> misfired. The number of arriving aircraft far exceeds the available
> gates, forcing many passengers to descend to the tarmac and take a
> magical mystery bus tour through the nether regions of the airport.
>
> Transport is also a problem. The light-rail link to the city is still
> almost two years away from completion and the airport was not designed
> to cater to public taxis, which are hidden away on the ground floor.
>
> Can these problems be fixed? According to Bangkok's Manager newspaper,
> the AOT board estimates it needs 1.4 billion baht ($A50 million) to
> deal with the problems. That money has yet to be allocated.
>
> Suvarnabhumi Airport is better than Don Muang, the airport it replaced,
> but not by so much.
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