Maintenance error blamed for Suvarnabhumi Airport shuttle train halt
Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT) on Friday blamed a breakdown of the automated people mover (APM) train at Suvarnabhumi Airport on an error that occurred during a maintenance check of its power system.
The breakdown lasted for about three hours, during which time shuttle buses were used to transport passengers between the main airport terminal and the Satellite Terminal 1.
Four flights were delayed for about 30 minutes as a result of the APM breakdown, but no passengers were left behind, Suvarnabhumi Airport director Kittipong Kittikachorn said at a press conference on the incident.
AOT president Kerati Kijmanawat told the media that the APM breakdown occurred at 9.45am when the system’s main power supply was cut off as part of a routine maintenance test by the airport’s engineers. However, the backup power system failed to work normally, resulting in the breakdown.
“After learning about the problem, the airport’s management dispatched mechanics to fix it immediately. The APM services resumed normally after three hours,” Kerati said.
He added that AOT would discuss the matter with Arrow Engineering and Construction, which is responsible for the maintenance of the airport’s APM system, to prevent a repeat of the incident.
The APM train, available since September last year, connects Suvarnabhumi Airport’s main terminal with its Satellite Terminal 1, or SAT-1.
Kittipong said on Friday that during the breakdown between 9.45am and 1pm, there were three arriving flights and seven departing flights serving 2,422 passengers at SAT-1.
He said the airport’s ground service staff arranged for shuttle buses to carry passengers between SAT-1 and the main terminal.
“Four flights were delayed for about 30 minutes, but there was no backlog of passengers,” he told the press conference.
The airport also issued an apology for the incident in a statement released on Friday.
