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Problems delay Suvarnabhumi Airport gala opening
Report from Bangkok Post dated Saturday 18 November 2006 :-
Problems delay Suvarnabhumi Airport gala opening
The official opening of Suvarnabhumi airport by His Majesty the King will be delayed for at least another six months as officials attempt to deal with persistent problems and bad publicity including safety, sexual harassment and complains about noise, a senior official said today.
Air Force commander Air Chief Marshal Chalit Phukbhasuk, also chairman of the committee organising the opening of the new airport, said that two major issues were raised during a meeting following complaints lodged by airport staff of sexual harassment and people living near the airport who were affected by noise problem.
Female staff at the airport, especially those working at night, have recently complained that they have been sexually harassed by construction workers.
Civil Aviation Department chief Chaisak Angkasuwan has suggested earlier that as an immediate solution to the noise problem, pilots would be asked to employ 20th century-type noise abatement procedures when approaching the airport for landing.
Flight frequency would also be better distributed to both runways to reduce noise impact in local areas.
Stressing that the problems must be totally solved before the official opening, which will be presided over by His Majesty the King, ACM Chalit said the official opening may be delayed for another six months.
The Airports of Thailand has been asked to solve the problems before next June, when officials of the International Civil Aviation Organization are due to inspect the airport before issuing an ICAO certificate.
--- KatoeytNewsNetwork
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