Suvarnabhumi Airport

Suvarnabhumi Airport was completed and opened for commercial use on 28 September 2006. In its first phase, the airport was designed to serve 14 000 passengers during the peak hour, or 45 million passengers a year, 76 flights per hour, and to transport cargo of up to 3 million tons a year. The Airport has two runways, one 4000 m long in the east and the other 3700 m long in the west. There are 51 contact and 69 remote aprons, with 5 for large-sized aircraft such as the Airbus A380. The design of the passenger terminal complex follows a unique concept that harmonizes modern architecture and the local identity with a focus on functionality. This paper serves to highlight the design philosophy of the passenger terminal building, which constitutes a vast single complex with attractive architectural touch and engineering marvel. Thailand is located in a suitable geographical location in South East Asia, enabling the newly opened Suvarnabhumi Airport to serve as a hub airport, especially when the polar route and A380 aircraft become operational. Suvarnabhumi airport covers an area of 3200 hectares or about 32 sq km. The total investment cost of Suvarnabhumi Airport is approximately 4000 million USD. Since Suvarnabhumi Airport is located conveniently about 25 km from downtown Bangkok, local interaction has be come one of the Airport's top priorities apart from the capacity to accommodate the constant growth in air transport. The Suvarnabhumi Airport has a prominent design with a focus on quality of passenger flow. In its original master plan, the first phase of Suvarnabhumi airport was designed to serve 30 million annual passengers (MAP). However, due to the long delay in construction, the first phase of Suvarnabhumi Airport was later revised to serve 45 MAP without the need to increase the passenger terminal's footprint. The key features of the Suvarnabhumi Airport in its first phase are listed in Table 1. The final phase of Suvarnabhumi Airport will cement Thailand's predominance in the region's aviation history. The terminal complexes will encompass dual passenger terminal buildings, one in the north and the other in the south. Each has a separate and independent entrance. Situated between them are two mid-field satellite concourse buildings with airside passenger mover to connect to the landside terminals. Each concourse has all the necessary facilities for easy access, i.e. four runways, aprons, parking spaces, and curb frontage. Ultimately, the passenger terminal complex will have the capacity to accommodate 27 000 passengers during the peak hour, or 120 MAP, 112 flights per hour, and transport cargo of 6,4 million tons a year.