Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport diverted 11 flights to smaller airports due to subsidence on a taxiway, airport officials said Friday, according to dpa. The flights were diverted to airports around the country late Thursday while workers filled a hole 5 centimetres deep and 60 centimetres across in the western taxiway, Suvarnabhumi Airport director Somchai Sawatdeepon said. The 3.8-billion-dollar airport, built on a swamp to the east of the capital, has suffered from subsidence under its taxiways and runways since it opened in 2006. Half of the 4,000-metre eastern runway has been under repair since June 27. "The subsidence problem happened because now all the large jets are just using the western runway, which is putting too much of a load on the taxiways," Somchai said. He acknowledged that Suvarnabhumi's problems with subsidence "had happened many times before." Repairs on the eastern runway are scheduled for completion by August 2.
