Fog eases but airport still not clear

Kamthorn Sirikorn, deputy director of Aeronautical Radio of Thailand, said there was dense fog only in the early morning yesterday, so most planes could land and take off as normal. Only Thai Airways, flight TG 675 from Kansai International Airport delayed its landing for 15 minutes from 5.40 to 5.55am.

"However, we will continue to monitor the weather even though Suvarnabhumi Airport is open. Other airports are standing by if there are any flights diverted from the airport," Kamthorn said.

Dense fog at Suvarnabhumi forced airlines to delay departures and divert some incoming flights to other airports over the past week.

Apinan Sumanaseni, president of THAI, the national carrier, said the change of landing destinations had cost the airline Bt200,000-Bt400,000 per flight. He did not give the number of flights affected.

Flights were diverted to Chiang Mai, Don Mueang and U-Tapao. Aside from the financial cost, the diversions also disrupted airline schedules.

"Weather conditions slightly affected THAI. Unable to land at Suvarnabhumi, planes were diverted to other airports until conditions at Suvarnabhumi cleared. This has resulted in additional fuel costs," Apinan said.

THAI has also adjusted its spare-parts control system recently, which resulted in maintenance delays. Apinan said the problems will be solved and all regular schedules will resume from today.

Meteorological Department director-general Suparerk Tansriratanawong said fog covering the airport was expected to be lighter than two days ago. Thus, planes could land and take off from the airport safely. However, dense fog might still affect some areas, depending on local conditions.

"From today the fog that has blanketed Bangkok will be lighter. Only areas surrounding the capital will be affected by thick fog. I would like to warn motorists in those areas to be careful," he said.

Besides the dense fog, the amount of dust particles smaller than 10 microns in Bangkok and some provinces may be higher than usual, so motorists should avoid routes with heavy congestion said Pollution Control Department director-general Supat Wangwongwatana.

Chiang Mai Airport director Commander Prateep Vijittho said he would liaise with airlines and other airports in the event of thick fog.

The airport implemented a security measure yesterday not permitting flights originating in Chiang Mai to take off for destinations affected by fog. This would continue until the weather situation in Bangkok had returned to normal.  

Wannapa Phetdee,

 Janjira Pongrai,

 Pongmanas Thasiri,

 The Nation