Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra joins the first commercial flight at Suvarnabhumi Airport on July 29 last year.

Since former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted, several teams of investigators have stormed into Suvarnabhumi Airport searching for irregularities, apparently in a series of moves to dig up proof of corruption with which to attack him.

On Monday, deputy permanent secretary for defence Bannavit Kengrien made an emotional statement in which he claimed that Suvarnabhumi, which Thaksin highlighted as one of his achievements over the past five years, would be Thaksin's graveyard.

It is an open secret that Bannavit was among the military men who were bullied by the Thaksin regime.

In the same vanguard there is a National Legislative Assembly committee, specifically set up to investigate all the Suvarnabhumi scandals. It includes both Winai Senniam and Praphan Khoonmee, former members of the Democrat Party and arch-rivals of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party.

They have found some proof of corruption. Only four months after its official opening, the airport's taxiways are cracked and need fixing in 25 places.

Winai and Praphan showed additional evidence yesterday, saying that more than 71,000 square metres of the passenger terminal, which covers about 500,000 square metres, have been damaged.

Obviously, they are pointing their fingers at the Thaksin administration, which handed out most of the airport development deals. Moreover, they are pushing for the closure of the airport, for renovations to ensure the safety of passengers.

Sonthi Limthongkul, a long-time leader of anti-Thaksin forces, points out that if the airport is closed, it will give a strong indication that Thaksin was guilty of several corruption cases.

But is the damage really that serious?

Some say that aircraft could pick up tiny rocks from the taxiway cracks and these could lead to explosions if they hit the fuel tanks.

Tortrakul Yommanak, a director of Airports of Thailand - the operator of the new airport - does not think so, although he counts himself among the anti-Thaksin people. He said the damage, including that on the taxiways, can be fixed without having to close Suvarnabhumi.

In this power play, all the bad news will unavoidably force local and foreign travellers, and all who use the airport, to lose confidence in Suvarnabhumi.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand's new governor Pornsiri Manoharn has voiced her grave concerns about the bad news. "It will be terribly worrying for foreigners who are travelling to Thailand. They could withdraw their travelling plans immediately if they fear for their safety."

Pornsiri and business people accept that closing the airport may be necessary if the safety issues are sufficiently serious and the danger can be substantiated.

However, many separate investigations and criticisms will not help to determine whether the problems are really that serious.

The government should step in quickly to clarify the issue, starting with the establishment of an independent investigation team who will not come up with biased opinions.

If possible, representatives from the International Civil Aviation Organisation should be invited to join the team, to decide whether the airport should be repaired or closed, and to give Thailand a chance to prove to the world that Suvarnabhumi is up to international standards.

In that way, we would be telling the world that we are dealing with a national issue in a professional way, and not being driven by political ill-will.

Such an investigation team should be established as soon as possible, given that many parts of the airport are running out of insurance coverage.

If anything is to be fixed, then it should be the responsibility of those construction firms that were awarded the construction contracts.

An investigation panel is necessary, given that AOT does not have the power to convince the public of the airport's safety because its board of directors is politically controlled. Its board is now chaired by General Saprang Kalayanamitr, assistant secretary of the Council of National Security.

Without the opinion from a very independent body, the airport will remain an open target for anyone who wants to hold it up as collateral damage in a political battle. If these issues are dragged on for political benefit, taxpayers will have to shoulder the eventual cost.

At present, airlines, logistics companies and tour operators are refraining from commenting on the impact of a possible closure. Operating from the airport, they are hopeful that Suvarnabhumi is just caught up in the ongoing power play and that it will be rescued once the culprit is caught.

It is so in Hollywood movies. But it will be interesting to see who will be the hero to save the airport, which has already swallowed more than Bt100 billion in development costs.

Watcharapong Thongrung,

Achara Deboonme

The Nation