Bannawit Kengrien, squatting second left, who chairs the National Legislative Assembly’s committee inspecting problems at Suvarnabhumi Airport, makes a point while talking to other panel members during their inspection of Don Muang Airport yesterday.

Alocally-based association of airlines is baulking at recommending its members move back to Don Muang until aviation officials explain how they plan to operate two international airports in Bangkok simultaneously.

 The Board of Airline Representatives in Thailand (BAR) has about 70 members.

"BAR is ready to meet with the public sector on how to operate the two airports. But so far, we have not been contacted by any government agencies," BAR president Brian Sinclair-Thompson, told Krungthep Turakij.

He said the government should be clear about which airlines would be allowed to operate at Don Muang and which ones would be allowed to remain at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

He said it remained unclear how and when the repairs at Suvarnabhumi would be carried out and completed.

The association plans to submit a letter to Airports of Thailand (AOT) asking for details about its plans for the two airports.

A big question concerns connecting flights. Don Muang is on the northern outskirts of Bangkok, while Suvarnabhumi lies to the east.

Sinclair-Thompson told the International Herald Tribune that connection times between flights would probably have to be about four to five hours if a passenger had to change airports. This compares with 75 minutes at Suvarnabhumi and 60 minutes within Don Muang.

While supporting the dual airport concept due to the fast growing number of passengers, Thailand Research Development Institute president Chalongbhop Sussangkarn urged the government to devise clear plans on how to operate the two airports and how to link them.

He noted that what worries the public is the damage at Suvarnabhumi. If the problems stem from design or substandard construction, the government is wise to move to Don Muang, he said.

Several airlines have expressed readiness to return to Don Muang, including Thai AirAsia, One-Two-Go, Nok Air and Thai Airways (THAI).

Many other airlines, mostly foreign ones, remain confused and have not made a move.

THAI chairman Chalit Pukbhasuk said the airline would operate from both airports. Initially, it plans to offer domestic flights from Don Muang to assist the sister company Nok Air, which faces an aircraft shortage.

Later, it will move its domestic flights back to Suvarnabhumi where it would operate both domestic and international flights.

"We have not yet finalised the plan but we're ready to respond to the government's decision," Chalit said.

Udom Santiprasongchai, executive director of low-cost airline One-Two-Go, said that airlines may not be able to move to Don Muang within 45 days as planned due to the delayed decision on how to handle damage at Suvarnabhumi and details on Don Muang's reopening.

The Cabinet on February 6 resolved to reopen Don Muang for domestic and international flights, to pave the way for repairs and ease traffic at Suvarnabhumi.

Today, engineers and architects will convene to discuss their how to handle problems at Suvarnabhumi.

Bannawit Kengrien, chairman of the National Legislative Assembly committee inspecting problems at Suvarnabhumi,

said yesterday that he would propose the AOT shut down the new airport if an integrated runway repair is necessary.

"If the grand-scale repair is to be carried out, there is no way left but closing it to avoid causing safety problems. It could be six to 10 months," he said, adding that if all airlines were to move back to Don Muang, AOT should not shoulder the cost given that the incident was unexpected.

Krai Tungsnga, vice-chairman of the Engineering Institute of Thailand, however said the problems at Suvarnabhumi were not serious enough to require it to be shut. Krai, a member of the Bannawit-chaired committee, said while taxiways were damaged, the runway functions.

"The airport could be partially closed for the repairs. There is no need for the shutdown as that could lead to immense damage. Foreign airlines might be against the proposal while moving could cause chaos and numerous subsequent problems. The damage could be done step by step without the entire airport shutdown," he told Krungthep Turakij.