The panel will be assisted by members from the Engineering Institute of Thailand Under HM The King's Patronage (EIT).

He ruled out the possibility of the airport being closed temporarily to sort out the cracks, but said: "If the cracks jeopardise aviation operations, something may need to be done further."

The retired admiral added: "If the board of directors of the Airports of Thailand [AOT] does not fully respond to the government's concerns [over the cracks], there will be something to reconsider about the appropriateness [of the current board's memberships].

Engineering expert Tortrakool Yommanark, an AOT board member, said the most likely cause of the cracks was bad design, and the actual cause would need to be positively identified and completely corrected, otherwise repair works to existing cracks would mean nothing as they would recur.

A National Legislative Assembly panel investigating corruption scandals surrounding the new airport earlier announced that several cracks were also found in passenger terminal buildings, while a number of unauthorised alterations of the original designs of the airport have also been discovered.

Quoting a contractor's report, the panel said the taxiways and runways with detected cracks or other defects could further develop and include a vast area covering 70,000 square metres.

"The problems have developed very rapidly, given that the report was filed on January 13, after the airport had been opened for only three months," panel member Praphan Khoonmee said.

The panel was also investigating a questionable alteration of the passenger terminal layout that unfairly increased outlet space for duty-free merchandiser Kingpower. - The Nation