Contingency plans are vital: ICAO

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has advised Thailand to devise contingency plans for its airports and to step up airport security.

Transport Ministry permanent secretary Surachai Tarnsittipong said yesterday that Mokhtar A Awan, director of the ICAO's Asia and Pacific Office, recommended that Thailand prepare contingency measures for the airports.

Surachai told Awan that the ministry would hold discussions with relevant state agencies to determine strategies and study the legal aspects of dealing with future emergencies.

He added that the discussions would include whether its was necessary to develop Phase 2 of Suvarnabhumi airport.

Serirat Prasutanond, acting president of Airports of Thailand (AOT), said Suvarnabhumi was ready to resume full normal operations at 11am today.

Yesterday it allowed domestic and international flights to land at the airport. TG 3169 operating on the Delhi-Bangkok route was the first flight to arrive at the airport, at 6am.

Many airlines informed AOT yesterday that they were resuming 109 passenger and cargo flights, of which 65 were arrivals. Among those resuming flights yesterday are Thai Airways International (THAI), Bangkok Airways, Cathy Pacific, Singapore Airlines, China Airlines and Japan Airlines.

Don Mueang airport director Anirut Thanomkullabutr said yesterday after the airport reopening that it would join with the airlines to urgently promote to the public that the airport has already resumed normal operation. The airport records around 1,100 passengers per day on 60 flights.

Yesterday Don Mueang handled 36 flights of Nok Air and 20 flights of THAI.

Pandit Chanapai, THAI's executive vice president, commercial department, said that the national carrier would resume normal operations at Suvarnabhumi today at 11.00am.

He added that THAI could afford to reimburse passengers stranded in Thailand and overseas during the airport seizure.It plans  to  ask for the compensation from the government.