Bangkok:An Emirates Airbus A380 experienced delays at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Monday night due to surface depressions on runway 02R, near the same area repaired just days earlier.

According to Thai News Agency, the aircraft was held for over an hour near the threshold of runway 02R, leading air traffic controllers to divert nearby flights to adjacent taxiways. This incident resulted in cumulative delays for five flights, totaling approximately two hours.

This disruption follows an October 28 incident where a China Airlines Boeing 737-800, bound for Kaohsiung, had its main landing gear stuck in damaged pavement at the same runway threshold. That earlier incident forced four following aircraft to divert and delayed five flights in total before the runway reopened on October 29.

Airports of Thailand (AoT) previously stated that heavy rainfall, high groundwater levels, and soft subsoil conditions under heavy aircraft loads contributed to the localized pavement damage. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has directed technical teams to assess structural integrity across runways, taxiways, and aprons using Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) methods.

The Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner, has an operating empty weight of roughly 276 tons and a maximum takeoff weight of up to 575 tons, requiring high-standard runway pavement. Officials are monitoring whether repeated damage occurred at runway 02R to prevent further impacts on flight operations and safety confidence at Thailand's main international gateway.