Most of the 21 old aircraft retired from service and still sitting in the southern wing of the airport awaiting dismantlement belong to the flag carrier, industry executives said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
While keeping authorities in the dark as to when it would clear jets that have sat collecting dust for years, THAI has added more retired aeroplanes, taking up space left by those already turned into scrap metal and belonging to other owners, the executives said.
THAI has also chosen to park wide-body aircraft at the airport while searching for buyers. The aircraft include four Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets and ultra-long-range Airbus A340-500s that were used for non-stop flights between Bangkok and New York, and that remain airworthy.
THAI has not responded to a request from Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) that it should fly out those jets and park them at other locations in Thailand.
“THAI’s top management has vowed to clear their retired aeroplanes from Don Muang, but somehow we have not seen that translated into action,” a frustrated airport official told the Bangkok Post yesterday.
The official said there were long-term parking spaces at inactive airports in other parts of the country such as the navy-operated U-Tapao airport in Rayong province, where THAI could store jets for sale.
“We don’t know why THAI won’t seriously look at those optional sites, as they are well aware that we need aircraft parking space now that Don Muang is being used beyond its capacity,” the official said.
Moreover, AoT is worried that THAI may also use Don Muang to park aged aeroplanes that it recently approved for sale but for which it is still trying to find buyers.