Suvarnabhumi feels air traffic heat.
Runway repairs likely to cause flight delays.
Bangkokpost - 1 Mar 2017 by AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK
The airport is cannibalising other departments to help to clear immigration lines, but a 60-day emergency runway closure will further jam up the airport. (File photo by Somchai Poomlard)
Suvarnabhumi airport staff are being drafted in to help speed up passenger flow through immigration to cope with a spike in passenger numbers.
Responding to criticism about long queues at immigration checkpoints, particularly outbound channels, the airport's general manager, Sirote Duangratana, said staff will help passengers fill in departure and arrival forms.
Staff would also be brought in to make sure all X-ray channels before passengers head to immigration counters are manned, he said.
"The number of passengers using Suvarnabhumi airport continues to rise dramatically," Mr Sirote said, adding the airport currently handles almost 200,000 passengers and 1,000 flights daily.
He said the number of passengers rose by 10% in the first two months of this year.
Mr Sirote said the airport is expediting construction of a new terminal, which could allow the airport to handle 30 million more passengers a year. The airport currently has the capacity to handle 45 million per annum.
The work is likely to be completed in 2019, he said.
Meanwhile, a stretch of one of Suvarnabhumi's runways and a taxiway will be closed for urgent maintenance work, starting Friday.
The repair work involves 935 metres of the eastern runway linked to taxiway B1, said Mr Sirote. The work is scheduled to last 60 days and end on May 5.
