Flight capacity at Bangkok airport to soar with third runway

- Photo: The Nation/ANN

BANGKOK: Once the third runway at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport goes into full operation, the number of flights landing and taking off should rise by 16% this year.

Deputy Transport Minister Manaporn Charoensri made this comment on Monday (Oct 28) after she checked out the operations and preparations made by the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Co Ltd (AeroThai) to use the new runway.

AeroThai has been gradually shifting flights to the new runway from October 3 so pilots can start getting familiar with it before it is used to its full capacity.

Manaporn said the new runway allows Suvarnabhumi to handle 94 flights per hour compared to 68 flights when there were just two runways.

She said AeroThai expects Thailand to see 836,513 flights this year, which would mark a 16% increase compared to last year.

Suvarnabhumi Airport alone should see some 348,980 flights this year or an average of 950 flights per day.

She said the Transport Ministry is targeting 1 million flights in Thailand next year, with Suvarnabhumi accounting for 1,000 flights daily.

AeroThai president Nopasit Chakpitak told reporters that the air traffic controller has not detected any issues with the third runway after using it for nearly a month.

He said the third runway has effectively boosted the airport’s capacity, especially at times of air traffic congestion.

Nopasit added that once the third runway was opened, AeroThai changed the air traffic pattern at the airport to be simultaneous, which means flights can land and take off at the same time. This will allow flight schedules at the airport to be more efficient.

He added that airlines also get to save fuel as AeroThai can schedule their landing and takeoffs as close to their parking spots as possible.

Nopasit added that AeroThai will also gradually increase the number of flights that use the third runway.

During the first two months of the runway’s opening, AeroThai will schedule 68 to 75 flights per hour, 30% of which will use the third runway.

After the two months, it will increase the capacity of the airport to between 75 and 85 flights per hour and 85 to 94 flights per hour by early next year, Nopasit concluded. - The Nation/ANN