Airports of Thailand (AoT) will compensate residents who were harmed by noise pollution from the third and newest runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport with 12 billion baht.
Several agencies, including the AoT, the Transport Ministry, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, discussed the issue on Monday in response to residents’ questions about the compensation they sought for the noise made by planes using the recently opened runway at the country’s main airport.
According to the law, a decision was made about the most reasonable rate, said Kittiphon Ruayfuphan, deputy spokesman for the Transport Ministry.
Noise-affected residents fall into a number of categories. Included are residents with problematic land ownership, those who are legally entitled to compensation, and those who are technically ineligible for any form of financial aid.
When the rate is determined, residents who fulfill the payout requirements will receive their money, Mr. Kittiphon said.
Those with problematic land ownership will receive assistance in organizing their documentation so they can be eligible for compensation.
Mr. Kittiphon said that after the Pollution Control Department conducts an evaluation and confirms that they are in fact affected by the noise pollution, residents who live close to the third runway but do not own the residential property they occupy might be eligible for compensation.
Surajit Phongsingwitthaya, the chairman of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) council, claims that residents complained to the BMA about the noise issue.
Following the filing of the complaints, the BMA asked the Transport Ministry and the AoT for updates on the issue’s resolution.
The BMA is acting as a go-between to give residents who haven’t applied for compensation yet information on how to do so.
Even though the petitions must be carefully vetted for fairness, Mr. Surajit said the authorities were evaluating them more rapidly.
The first round of compensation should be available to residents early next year, according to the council chairman.
The third runway, which is four kilometers long and sixty meters wide, was built parallel to the first runway on the western side of Suvarnabhumi Airport. It will primarily be used for planes landing at the airport and can now handle 94 planes per hour, up from the previous 68.
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