GENEVA: Working out how to ease overcrowding at Suvarnabhumi airport is moving too slowly and it's time to "get on with it", says Vinoop Goel, Regional Director, Airports and Member Relations, of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Better consultation and information exchanges can solve the problem, he said.
In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Mr Goel said: "Progress is slower than we would like. Things are starting to move but it could be faster."
"We do hope that in at least two months a decision will be made and the construction [of a new terminal] will start," Mr Goel said.
He acknowledged that expanding an airport requires big decisions, because while construction proceeds, it will hinder existing operations, adding that the IATA stands ready to provide as much expertise as it can to help with a timely expansion.
He suggested airlines and airport officials thrash out issues which must be considered in adding to Suvarnabhumi's capacity.
"In an ideal world, a decision [at Suvarnabhumi] should have been made already on whether to expand the existing terminal or build a new one.
"If the current terminal cannot be expanded, then you need a second terminal," he said.
The Airports of Thailand (AoT) has put the project to construct a second terminal on the back burner, pending steps to glean opinions from relevant parties including the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The Council of Engineers (CoE) and the Architects Council of Thailand have railed against the plan, saying the proposed new facility is poorly located and veers away from the original Suvarnabhumi master plan drafted in 1990.
An AoT source said the board agreed to put construction of the terminal on hold in line with the management's proposal. This was because some critics pointed out that the structure does not comply with the master plan, which has been studied by the ICAO.
However, the IATA is not too concerned about the master plan, which was conceived to dictate how the airport would be enlarged in the future, not being followed strictly.
"Every master plan needs to be updated periodically to reflect the latest traffic trends," Mr Goel said.
He added that the IATA and AoT wrote a report containing recommendations on airport improvements, which was presented to Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith.
He said the association was glad the minister had taken an interest and instructed the AoT to form a consultative committee with the association to iron out the airport overcrowding issue.
What is needed to address congestion at Suvarnabhumi is a thorough design analysis, in full consultation with the airlines and other stakeholders, he said. Also, the government should review the options rather than look at just one option and arrive at a conclusion.
"Sometimes adding a building or annex building is easier than starting a brand new building. But again it's not always that simple. If I'm expanding a building, I have a negative impact on the gates right next to where the expansion is," Mr Goel said.
"Let's do a proper pros and cons analysis of these options. Look at how much time [the project] will take, what impact it will have on capacity, how much will it cost, and the answer should be fairly obvious to everyone," he said.
"When you don't have access to all information, everyone is making assumptions based on limited information," he said.
In the meantime, the government and AoT should work together to rectify deficiencies in terms of runway "soft spots" and the shortage of self-service technology and automation, such as self-check-in kiosks, Mr Goel added.
Last month, Mr Arkhom said the aviation body recommended AoT's scheme to improve ground safety conditions be sped up, when asked for suggestions about airport services.
Replacing asphalt with concrete is expected to increase the life expectancy of the runways to 10 years and it is part of efforts to permanently resolve the threat of "soft spots" on taxiways, taxi lanes and aircraft stands.
According to Mr Arkhom, the AoT plans to spend about 2.5 billion baht replacing all 700,000 square metres of asphalt with concrete on all runways and taxiways at Suvarnabhumi airport next year.
Mr Goel said if fixing the soft spots on the airside takes too much time, it will not give the community very much confidence of when the terminal will be back to full function. Also, the capacity cannot be added during repair.
Mr Goel insisted the bottom line is if problems that are holding Suvarnabhumi airport are not tackled in a timely fashion, airlines will move elsewhere.
"And that will be unfortunate for Bangkok's position as the hub in the region. But more importantly, it impacts the economy of Thailand which is quite dependent on tourism. if the tourists are not coming there is a negative impact on jobs and the GDP," he said.
"In an ideal world, you add capacity ahead of demands so you aren't faced with overcrowding. The faster they get started with this expansion, the better it is," Mr Goel said.
