Judges to check noise levels : Residents seek decision to get late flights shifted to Don Muang

A judges' quorum under the Central Administrative Court will soon conduct an inspection around Suvarnabhumi Airport to hear noise generated by aircraft engines, a community leader said yesterday.

Wanchart Manatham-sombat said the period for the on-site inspection was scheduled for between 10pm and 5am. The date for the inspection has not yet been decided.

The Court will then reach a verdict in response to the resident's petition lodged on November 21 complaining about excessive noise.

He said the judges had heard his group's complaint and the residents' request that all airliners landing and taking off between the late night period should use Don Muang airport instead.

Wanchart said his group had never asked the Airports of Thailand (AoT) to ban flights from taking off and landing at Suvarnabhumi, countering an AoT statement that doing so would cost it Bt2 billion a day demanded by airliners.

The petition accused several government agencies of negligence for failing to regulate noise control. It also requested both technical and administrative protective measures against the noise.

Meanwhile, King Mong-kut's Institute of Technology Lat Krabang revealed yesterday dust particles had increased in a 15km radius from the airport a year after it opened.

If no measures were implemented to tackle the growing problem, the situation could worsen in 25 years, and affect the health of nearby residents, it said.

Dr Preecha Yupapin, a lecturer from the institute's Department of Applied Physics, said the institute and US experts had recently surveyed installed dust particle inspection devices around the airport and found an increase in the amount of particles.

The dust had increased by 0.1 per cent, which was not a dangerous level, because rainfall had cleaned the dust from the air. However, if the problem remained with no solutions, problems would occur in the next 25 years, he said.

Meanwhile, Bangkok's Silom, Sukhumvit and Yaowarat roads were detected with 0.6 per cent of dust particles - which posed a danger to peoples' health, he said.

Preecha said the dust mostly resulted from vehicle exhausts, which could be solved by installing exhaust-screening devices or better engine maintenance to avoid long-term problems that would affect nearby residents' respiratory systems.

The team also joined

with AIS to study the impact of dust particles on cell-phone signals and found that the 0.1 per cent increase in particles did not affect the analogue signals but that 0.5 per cent and above did, Preecha said.

SUVARNABHUMI AIRCRAFT NOISE : Court to rule soon on call to ban night flights

The Administrative Court is expected to rule within days on demands to suspend night flights at Suvarnabhumi airport by people living in its vicinity. Somchai Armin, who represents the 359 residents bringing the noise-abatement case, said the flights could be moved to Don Mueang airport.

His clients have asked the court to bar domestic and international flights at Suvarnabhumi from 10pm to 5am so they can get a proper night's sleep.

Mr Somchai said yesterday's hearing focused on the impact the ban would have on the country and measures to alleviate the residents' plight. He expected a decision within a few days.

The residents brought a case in the court on Nov 21 against Airports of Thailand (AoT), the Civil Aviation Department chief, the transport minister, the Pollution Control Department chief and the natural resources and environment minister.

AoT representatives rejected the demand, saying it would cause losses of two billion baht a day and possible lawsuits from air carriers demanding compensation for breach of contract.

Mr Somchai, who is a member of the Lawyers Council of Thailand's environmental committee, said night flights could be shifted to Don Mueang.

The AoT said it was not possible as flights were scheduled in advance. However, it was possible that flights which caused excessive noise could be limited to the daytime.

Thai Airways president opposes Don Muang as international airport

Thai Airways International Public Co., Ltd. (THAI), the country’s flag carrier, opposes the idea of reinstating Bangkok’s former airport, Don Muang, now serving airliners for domestic routes, as another international airport to ease traffic congestion at Suvarnabhumi international airport.

Thai Airways president Apinan Sumanaserani said Suvarnabhumi international airport, which celebrates its first anniversary of commercial opening September 29, is busy during heavy traffic only. In fact, the airport could easily cater to some 60-70 million passengers annually without problems, he said.

His comments were made after many suggestions were offered that not less than 45 million passengers would use Suvarnabhumi yearly and that the airport was now reaching full capacity so there is a need to make Don Muang another international airport to ease traffic congestion there.

The number of passengers would remain unchanged even after redesignating Don Muang as an additional international airport while it would create heavier costs for the airlines because a number of passengers will have to board their fights at the former international airport, Mr. Apinan said.

He urged concerned authorities to listen to the opinions of passengers, airlines and airline associations before making a decision.

Dead pilot "loved Phuket view from above"

Captain Arif Mulyadi once told his son that of all the places he had flown, Phuket had the worst weather. But it also had the most beautiful scenery from above.

The retired lieutenant colonel was among the 88 people who died on Sunday in a plane crash on the Thai resort island of Phuket.

"Father promised to come home to see his grandsons on Sept 28," Arif's oldest son, Agung, told news portal detik.com on Monday.

He is returning home 10 days early, but not for the joyous family reunion that had been anticipated.

Arif's body arrived from Thailand yesterday morning (TUES) at SoekarnoHatta International Airport. He was buried at Pondok Ranggon public cemetery, southeast of Jakarta, yesterday.

He is survived by wife Lief Farikha; three children, Agung Bayu Hanggono, 29, Windi Hapsari Catu Pratiwi, 27, and Dimas Bayu Prakoso, 25; and two grandsons.

Arif was piloting the McDonell Douglas MD82 that crashed Sunday. The plane, operated by Thai budget airline OneTwoGo, broke into two and burst into flames on landing, killing 88 people and injuring 42 others.

Chairman of OneTwoGo, Udom Tantiprasongchai, told reporters in Bangkok that the pilot was "an experienced foreigner".

Arif, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1974, retired from the Air Force two years ago after serving for more than 30 years.

He piloted jet fighters for several years before flying transportation planes, according to soninlaw Lt Col (ret) Munir Umar. He finished his service as an instructor at the Air Force Academy.

"He started his pilot career outside the Air Force long before he retired. To my knowledge, he once worked for Star Air and Sempati, among others," Umar told reporters at Arif's home at the Halim Perdana Kusumah Air Force housing complex in East Jakarta.

Arif's wife was in Thailand on Monday to identify her husband's remains and accompany the body back to Indonesia.

Arif worked for OneTwoGo for several years. His wife joined him in Thailand, where the couple lived, while their children remained in Jakarta.

"Ibu (Arief's wife) just returned home two weeks ago. It was a routine visit, visiting her children and grandsons," Umar said. "Now she is returning here for a different reason."

All budget flights are operating normally

Thailand's budget airlines, including tragedy-stricken One-Two-Go, are reporting no flight cancellations despite predictions that their passenger numbers would drop up to 20 per cent for a few months following Sunday's Phuket crash.

All three budget carriers - Thai AirAsia, One-Two-Go and Nok Air - are maintaining normal operations.

Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld said demand for bookings remained brisk and that there had been no cancellations.

"We resumed operations between Bangkok and Phuket on Monday afternoon after the reopening Phuket Airport," he said, adding that the only affect on Thai AirAsia was the cancellation of one flight into Phuket while the airport was closed. It flew two services to Phuket on Monday afternoon and has been operating its normal six daily flights between Bangkok and the resort island since then.

Nok Air deputy CEO Sehapan Chumsai said his airline was operating its two daily flights from Bangkok to Phuket as normal.

Surat Thani Airport director Chamnong Sarnaksorn said One-Two-Go flights from Surat Thani remained fully loaded, because locals understood that air accidents were uncommon occurrences. There have been no cancellations on flights out of Surat Thani on either One-Two-Go or Thai AirAsia. The former flies one service a day with 148 seats and the latter two flights with 172 seats each.

At Phuket Airport, large numbers of passengers, both local and foreign, queued yesterday to check in, undeterred by Sunday afternoon's tragedy. Many said they were confident about safety standards at the airport but would prefer to stick with mainstream airlines.

Praphan Sirikururat, 49, a regular passenger on Thai Airways International, said he arrived in Phuket on Sunday. He was returning to Bangkok fully confident in the safety standards at the airport, for both landing and taking off.

Phuket Airport director Pornchai Eua-aree yesterday said the airport was "100 per cent ready" in terms of safety measures to resume full operations.

The airport handles 106 landings and take-offs a day, he said. Its maximum capacity is 114 flights a day. He said because it was located near the sea, the airport had no special obstacles to normal flying operations despite strong winds.

"No plane has ever skidded off the runway [before Sunday's crash]. This was the first time - and we're not yet sure if the plane really skidded off, because the investigation is still underway," he said, adding that emergency procedures at the airport were thorough and in line with standards imposed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

One-Two-Go, which operates six daily flights from Bangkok to Phuket, has not yet cancelled any flights. It operates five daily flights from Don Mueang Airport and one from Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The airline has expressed its extreme regret about the tragedy on its website, www.fly12go.com.

"We will take full responsibility for each injured and killed passenger and make our best attempt to provide support," the airline said.

It advises that inquiries about names of passengers, carrying passengers' relatives to the accident scene and transportation of bodies be directed to its hotline numbers, all of which are listed on the website.

Govt to spend 174mln on airport noise

The cabinet approved a plan to set aside 174 million baht, to spend on aiding residents living near the Suvarnabhumi airport , and who are affected by noise pollution.This is the latest move by the government, after thousands of residents affected by aircraft noise at the airport rallied in what they said to be the "last peaceful move" on Sunday to pressure aviation authorities to answer their demands.They said Airports of Thailand has been slow in making compensation payments and mitigating the impact of the noise that has haunted them for a year now.The cabinet spending plan did not mention how the money would be spent.

Thanacity: Insurance Payout if a plane should crash into the resident’s home or condominium ? Will you get it before you grow old or die of old age

We believed most of the current residents have not thought much about this. What happens should a plane loose part of its engine or the plane crash into the homes of the residents ? Will the residents’ homes be compensated by AOT ? Or by the Airline ? Or by the government authority ? Or if the residents have bought insurance policies, will they get paid ? Look into the policy carefully. The insurance salesmen may not know what is happening. What happens if the homes is completely destroyed and where will these residents stay in the meantime ? Who will pay compensation for lost of use? Who will pay compensation for the rebuilding of these homes ?

What happens if some of the residents are killed ? What happens if some of the residents are badly injured and have to be immobilized or stay in the wheelchair for the rest of his life ? What happens if the sole breadwinner dies and will the family be compensated for lost earnings?

AOT have its own rules and procedures. Any payout requires approval but this committee and that committee and that there must be enough members present to carry out the vote which must later be endorsed by so and so…. Etc etc… etc. So does the government. I remembered reading somewhere that during a visit by the Prime Minister, he was approached by a person for medical help for transportation to a hospital. He agreed to help. It was even covered by the newspaper. But he was conveniently forgotten until he called in the reporters and TV stations. Correct me if I was wrong in this story. Of course the minister apologized. It was a misunderstanding and error by the officers .

Is the airport runways, controls , systems, approved by ICAO. ? Does the insurance policies covers these type of damages or death claims ? We got to read the fine lines of the insurance company. Most of the homes are insured for Fire and others types of disasters but plane crash… well it is kinda doubtful. But most probably not from a plane crash or damages from falling parts of the aircraft.

And if the planes runs straight into the condominiums. There will be hell of a lot of investigations. But in the meantime, there is no help for the residents. Who approved the present height of the condominiums ? Are these condos too high ? There will be panels and committees set up. Committee members resigned and hence there is no quorum. Probably the new President will resign too. Finally, nothing will be done. So Thanacity residents BEWARE. Do not be so smug and happy that you can get compensation and benefits by doing nothing.

Better look into your house insurance policies. Be prepared to pay for higher premiums as your house is in danger of being damaged by a possible plane crash and vibrations caused by the flying planes. Why must the residents be penalized ? Of course, those AOT chaps will say it is impossible until they moved and stay at Thanacity ! It is now getting bad to worst. Every other minute a plane flies over Thanacity. And it looks like they are scheduling more flights over Thanacity because the other runway is under repair.
Guess what ? They are now looking at expanding the airport. They are planning to pay out as compensation the grand amount of Baht 174 million. AOT constructed the airport tunnel for baht 4,000 million although SRT gave them a budget for Baht 500 million. Looks like the protestors and the residents will be in for a wild balloon ride. As Thanacity residents, we were promised many things by the developers but it looks like AOT is following the same route.