Suvarnabhumi International Airport’s Taxiway E21 has been under repair since last night, after an incident on Monday night when an Emirates Airbus A380 (Flight EK373), bound for Dubai, could not move from the taxiway.
A tow truck was sent to move the plane to an alternate taxiway and the plane managed to depart at 10.22pm, instead of its scheduled departure time of 9.11pm.
Inspectors from the airport checked the E21 taxiway and found some damaged sections, which is thought to have been caused by heavy rain and recent flooding around the airport, causing deep waterlogging, which meant that heavy aircraft could damage the taxiway.
While the taxiway is undergoing repairs, expected to be completed on Friday by about 8am, the airport’s management is preparing to open the extended Taxiway D after it has passed an inspection by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.
Suvarnabhumi airport has also coordinated with the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand to manage flight landings and takeoffs and says that it is confident that it can handle the air traffic without further disruption while Taxiway E21 is being repaired.
The airport also stated that it treats the safety of passengers and aircraft as its priority and has always checked the strength of the surface of the taxiways and runways and conducts repairs as soon as any damage is found.
