Don Muang to re-open in March

BANGKOK, February 8th - Don Muang airport will probably re-open with one domestic and one international terminal in 45 days - in time for the start of summer flight schedules, transport authorities said yesterday. Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongchaum and executives of Airports of Thailand (AoT) were speaking while inspecting Don Muang airport yesterday. Mr Sansern said Don Muang was ready to take over some flights from Suvarnabhumi, now under repair, and preparations have begun to enable it to resume services in 45 days.

The old airport has two international terminals and one domestic terminal.

Mr Sansern said the reopening of Don Muang airport would be quick as it still has its conveyor belts and baggage X-ray machines intact.

Don Muang's International Terminal 1 is ready now. It is still in use and has been serving government and charter flights since the opening of Suvarnabhumi airport on Sept 28.

The domestic terminal will need computers and phone lines to serve airline staff, and the western runway of Don Muang is under renovation.

Next week, Mr Sansern will meet airline representatives to conclude arrangements on the sharing of flights between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi airports.

He said Suvarnabhumi would remain Bangkok's main airport and Don Muang would be its auxiliary. Good management would ensure optimal use of both facilities.

Acting AoT president Kulya Pakakrong said some domestic and international flights would return to Don Muang, and International Terminal 1 and the domestic terminal would together be capable of serving 40 flights an hour.

Don Muang director Pinit Saraithong said Don Muang's preparations had already started and the decision on the number of flights to return would finalise management's plans for the old airport.

He expected the physical renovation and management plan to be finished before March 20. With a test period, Don Muang should be able to serve summer flight schedules from March 25.

Suvarnabhumi airport director Serirat Prasutanond said although airlines could choose between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi, the airports would not compete with each other because they were both operated by AoT. On the contrary, he said, they would boost Bangkok's passenger handling capacity to over 70 million travellers annually and promote the capital as a regional aviation hub. This would allow postponement of the costly expansion of trouble-plagued Suvarnabhumi for up to five years.

Mr Serirat said while there would be no difference in fees charged at the airports, he expected low-cost airlines would choose Don Muang airport.

Low fares and promotions of no-frills airlines would make Don Muang an active gateway for arrivals and Bangkok would thus be more interesting than Singapore in terms of flight destinations, he said.

The decision to reopen Don Muang for international flights, operating in conjunction with Suvarnabhumi, was made by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont during Tuesday's cabinet meeting.