Closure could hit AirAsia hardest

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Bhd and its associate Thai AirAsia are expected to be among the hardest hit carriers when Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport closes one of its runways for two months beginning today.

AirAsia executives said the airline expects longer turnaround time for its Bangkok operations as a result of the temporary closure of the East runway, but stressed that it doesn’t plan to reduce the frequency of flights to Bangkok.

AirAsia and Thai AirAsia now fly 16 times daily from KLIA to Suvarnabhumi and twice daily from Penang to Suvarnabhumi. Malaysian Airline System Bhd operates four flights daily to Bangkok.

Industry analysts said AirAsia would have to bear the additional costs stemming from the burning of more fuel because of the longer turnaround time at the world’s 16th busiest airport and overtime claims from its crew working on the Bangkok flights.

“Overall, our turnaround time might be longer. Also, as our aircraft type is still allowed to take off but not land on the renovated runaway, there might be some impact on our arrivals,” a senior Thai AirAsia executive told The Edge Financial Daily.

But the executive denied speculation the airline is seeking compensation from the Thai airport authorities for the disruption to its business.
Thailand’s aviation authorities recently announced that the East runway at will be closed for maintenance from June 11 to Aug 10, and warned of serious traffic congestion both in the air and on the ground.

Airlines have been advised not to add more frequencies through the airport during this period, while companies operating charter services have been told to consider relocating their operations from Don Muang, Bangkok’s old airport.

Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation said inbound flights may be forced to wait in the air for as long as 45 minutes during peak periods before being allowed to land. The country’s aviation authorities are also considering diverting certain domestic flight operations to Don Muang Airport on the outskirts of the city during the 60-day maintenance period.

President of Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT), Flying Officer Anirut Thanamkulbutra, said the runways at Suvarnabhumi Airport have been handling heavy loads since it began operations six years ago, servicing more than 1.5 million flights so far.

The repair work on the East runway is carried out by Thai Slurry Seal Co Ltd for a budget of 138.22 million baht (RM13.9 million) over two periods. They are from March 9 to April 22 for planning and preparation, and from June 11 to Aug 9 for the surface repair.

Thai aviation industry executives said Suvarnabhumi is running beyond its original capacity of 45 million passengers a year. They added that passenger throughput last year was 47.2 million and the number is expected to rise to 51 million this year.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, June 11, 2012.