Don Muang Airport

   

Don Muang International Airport (also Don Mueang, Thai ท่าอากาศยานดอนเมือง) is an airport in Bangkok, Thailand. The airport was officially opened on March 27th 1914, although the field had been in use earlier. The main field before the opening of Don Muang was the Sa Pathum airfield.

Don Muang is an important hub of Asia and the hub of Thai Airways International. The airport has the IATA airport code BKK.

Don Muang International Airport serves the most air traffic in Thailand. Nowadays more than 80 airlines are on service and over 30,000,000 passengers, 160,000 flights and 700,000 tons of cargo are handled at this airport.

Vibhavadi Rangsit Road is the main route linking airport with downtown Bangkok. Other transport webs bringing us to downtown are toll-way and expressways which facilitate passengers' trip with more convenience and fastness.

Besides travelling by road, train is other choice for travelling to town, spending 30 minutes only. The railway station is opposite and linked with the airport by walkway bridge.

Construction on Suvarnabhumi Airport started in 2002. When completed in 2005, Suvarnabhumi will take over all of Don Muang Airport's International Flights.

History of disasters and near-disasters

On November 29, 1988, Korean Air Flight 858, which was flying from Abu Dhabi International Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to Don Muang to Kimpo International Airport near Seoul, South Korea, exploded over the Andaman Sea after a bomb planted by North Korean agents exploded. Everyone on board died.

If Project Bojinka had not been discovered after a fire in Manila, Philippines, one or more aircraft owned by a U.S. carrier/s flying to this airport would have blown up over the Pacific Ocean on January 21, 1995 as part of the project's first phase.

On August 22, 1999, Mandarin Airlines Flight 642, which was landing in Tropical Storm Sam at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong on a route from Don Muang to Hong Kong, rolled upside down on the runway. The plane came to rest upside down. 3 of the passengers died.

Terminals

Don Muang International Airport has 3 Terminals.

International Terminal 1

International Terminal 2

Etihad also flies to this airport.

Domestic Terminal

See also

External links


fr:Aéroport international de Bangkok nl:Don Muang ja:ドーンムアン空港

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