WorrisomeThe Saigon Times DailyMond

Worrisome

The Saigon Times Daily
Monday, Oct 19,2015,19:38 (GMT+7)









Tan Son Nhat is the nation’s biggest airport with more than 40 airlines operating around 360 flights a day. Last year, it handled more than 22 million passengers. Any disruption of the airport would cause tremendous damage, so the highest safety standards are always embraced to ensure normal operations.

News reports on rain-triggered flooding at Tan Son Nhat that surfaced late last week are startling indeed. According to the Tan Son Nhat International Airport Authority, certain parts of the airport, especially one near the power station of the air traffic control tower, were 20 centimeters under water after heavy rain on October 9.

The airport was forced to purchase sandbags to build makeshift walls to prevent rainwater from inundating the power generation facility.

Pham Vu Cuong, deputy director of Tan Son Nhat International Airport Authority, was quoted by local media as saying if water submerged the power station, a complete airport shutdown could not be avoided. An power outage would render the air traffic controllers helpless. If such an incident happens, massive chaos would hit the country’s busiest airport.

It is worrying that according to video footage posted on the local news site VnExpress, this is the second such flooding at the airport this month. Surprisingly, the airport has taken no immediate coping measures.

The Southern Airports Authority has had to jump in by requesting the operator of Tan Son Nhat International Airport to take quick action to solve the problem.

The airport has put the blame on residents in the neighborhood, saying they have thrown garbage into drainage canals and carried out illegal canal reclamation projects. In fact, fast urbanization, particularly around Tan Son Nhat, has overwhelmed the drainage system in the airport area.

The airport and local authorities are also to blame as they should have foreseen such a problem. Anyone who takes off or lands can see a jungle of concrete houses built around the airport while the drainage system has remained unchanged or has even been clogged by illegal canal reclamation works.

The airport and local authorities should work out a solution for preventing a repeat of flooding once and for all.