Good news and bad news from Airports of Thailand president, Anirut Thanomkulbutra, today. Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport, in the north of the city, will apparently reopen on March 6, 2012, after already being closed for more than three and a half months due to massive flood damage.
According to Mr. Thanomkulbutra, all flood damage repair at Don Mueang will be complete by early March. Good news indeed, as the March reopen date is almost a month earlier than expected.
Don Mueang is Bangkok's second airport however so, as many Bangkok residents will tell you, it being closed hasn't affected flights overly much. Particularly as all airlines simply relocated to Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok's main airport when floods first hit in October, 2011.
However, airline Nok Air has already announced they'll be returning to Don Mueang as soon as the airport is operational, and other budget airlines are expected to follow suit.
While Don Mueang's reopening is good news for people living in the north of Bangkok, and who use airlines like Nok Air or Orient Thai frequently, Don Mueang reopening isn't necessarily good news for some of Thailand's tourists. Depending on their travel plans, of course.
When Bangkok flooded and all flights from Don Mueang were relocated to Suvarnabhumi, it made it much more convenient for passengers who were catching connecting flights, and who no longer had to transfer to a second airport.
Now it means, if you fly into Thailand on an international airline, you'll then have to travel more than an hour across the city to Don Mueang, if you have an immediate connecting flight on certain budget airlines. Good for the airlines, who will be back to paying fees at a cheaper airport. Not great news for some of Thailand's tourists.
Unfortunately however, the switch back to Don Mueang had to be done. It would be difficult for Suvarnabhumi Airport to accommodate the budget airlines long-term, as it's continuing to expand the flight capacity of existing airlines. So, back to Don Mueang the budget airlines go.
