Deputy Thai PM says new Suvarnabhumi airport an embarrassment to Thailand

from the Bangkok Post:

Deputy PM says airport is embarrassing

AoT ordered to stop thinking of expansion

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula took senior Transport Ministry and airport officials to task yesterday for Suvarnabhumi airport's substandard services, which have become a big source of embarrassment for the country.

A lengthy campaign to project it as a world class airport has only brought embarrassment, he said.

Unhappy about the facilities, he has ordered Airports of Thailand (AoT) officials to stop thinking about expanding the airport and instead spend more energy and time over the next six months to make improvements to its services, according to sources at a closed-door meeting yesterday. The airport should first be worthy of praise for its services before any expansion is undertaken, he was quoted as saying.

Suvarnabhumi can currently handle 45 million passengers a year and officials hope to make it the region's biggest once the airport is fully expanded.

M.R. Pridiyathorn blamed the rush to open the airport for its poor services and stressed the need to rebuild its reputation, said the sources.

"Although the airport and its hardware are considered world class, its facilities are not. This is worrisome and everyone involved must help bring about improvements to the airport because it has been under constant criticism since the day it came into operation," said M.R. Pridiyathorn, who has already used Suvarnabhumi's services three times.

None of the senior officials attending the meeting disagreed with M.R. Pridiyathorn, who is also finance minister, and they promised to quickly get rid of the problems.

Most complaints from travellers have been about insufficient toilets, signs to direct passengers, and a shortage of meeting space, especially at the arrivals lounge.

Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen, his deputy Sansern Wongcha-um and AoT president Chotisak Asapaviriya have all admitted that had the airport's opening been delayed, these problems would not have cropped up. "It's undeniable that the problems resulted from the decision to open the airport too soon when it was not ready," said Mr Chotisak.

The opening of Suvarnabhumi was ordered by the previous government amid warnings that its facilities were not yet ready to offer standard services.

The AoT top executive said the agency had earmarked about 40 million baht to build more toilets inside and outside the terminal by the end of the year.

Fifty toilets will be added outside the airport building and 205 additional toilets will be built inside on the first, second and fourth floors, with some of them occupying areas now being used as the AoT offices, according to Mr Chotisak.

M.R. Pridiyathorn promised to continue a plan of the previous government to build more mass transit lines to transport commuters from residential areas outside Bangkok to the downtown area.

The previous administration picked three lines for construction _ the Red Line from Rangsit to Phaya Thai, the Violet Line from Bang Sue to Bang Yai and the Blue Line route, an expansion of the underground train from Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae and Bang Sue to Tha Phra.

Their future depends on next week's talks, when the deputy premier will assess the benefits of the three routes with key officials at the Transport Ministry, including its minister and deputy, and those from the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority of Thailand and the State Railway of Thailand. But the policy is clear-cut, according to M.R. Pridiyathorn, who wants to see the mass transit lines to end traffic woes in the capital and enable users living in suburban areas to travel to Bangkok within an hour.