Runway maintenance to cut Suvarnabhumi's capacity

Runway maintenance to cut Suvarnabhumi's capacity

This graphic from the management of Suvarnabhumi airport shows the runway section to be repaired in red and the expected impact on flight capacity.
This graphic from the management of Suvarnabhumi airport shows the runway section to be repaired in red and the expected impact on flight capacity.

Airline schedules will be affected at Suvarnabhumi airport, with fewer flights per hour, during two-months of maintenance and repairs to the takeoff runway and taxiway starting this Friday, the airport's general manager has confirmed.

Sirote Duangratana said a part of the airport's east runway and the B1 taxiway would be repaved from March 3 to May 2. The maximum number of flights per hour will be cut from 68 to 60,  or roughly 12%, during the work.

The work would cover a 935-metre-long northern section of the east runway known as 19L and the whole B1 taxiway. The rest of the east runway, 2,750 metres, would remain operational and able to serve most kinds of aircraft, including the long-range Airbus A380, Mr Sirote said.

The west runway would be in service as usual.

During the two-months of maintenance the capacity of the two-runway operation would drop from 68 flights an hour to 60 flights.

All affected parties, including pilots, had been informed and the management of U-Tapao airport in Rayong province asked to put the airport, which is near Pattaya, on standby in case of any emergency at Suvarnabhumi airport, Mr Sirote said.

The east runway and the B1 taxiway were used mainly for departures. Suvarnabhumi management hoped to minimise the impact of the maintenance work, especially during peak traffic hours, he said.

Currently, the two runways serve up to 68 flights per hour, divided equally. The partial closure will reduce the capacity of the east runway, which will be used only for takeoffs, to 26 flights, making the total capacity 60 an hour.

Based on statistics from last year, the average number of daily flights during the maintenance period would be 933 flights in March, 921 in April and 899 in May. 

The highest traffic in 2016 was 970 flights on average a day in February and the lowest  876 flights in June. 

The airport in 2016 served a total of 336,354 flights, an average of 919 a day. A total of 55.89 million passengers travelled through the airport in 2016.

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