More than 130 Phuket flights retimed due to urgent runway repairs

This article is more than 12 months old

Feb 28, 2018 06:00 am

BANGKOK: More than 130 flights have been rescheduled at Phuket International Airport in Thailand to allow urgent repairs of cracks on the runway surface.

A total of 75 flights were rescheduled on Monday, while at least 59 others was scheduled to be cancelled yesterday, reported Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Airport director Phet Chancharoen was quoted as saying that the decision to close a runway during the early hours of Monday and yesterday followed reports of cracks late on Sunday.

Small cracks were found in an area covering 9 sq m, while another area of 84 sq m between the runway and the taxiway required attention, reported Phuket Gazette.

Airport officials said the cracks were caused by an increase in traffic during the tourist high season and the recent surge in airline traffic during the Chinese New Year.

They said the runway needed urgent attention as a precaution, though the cracks presented no immediate danger to aircraft operations at the airport.