Cabinet approves re-opening of Don Muang Airport
The cabinet on Tuesday approved the reopening of Bangkok's 92-year-old Don Muang Airport on March 25 to handle domestic flights while the capital's new but problem-plagued Suvarnabhumi Airport will handle mainly international travel.
Government spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarp said the cabinet had decided to reopen Don Muang to handle only domestic flights and it would be up to the airlines themselves to decide which airport they will use.
So far, Thai Airways International (THAI) has agreed to operate its domestic routes from Don Muang as has its affiliate Nok Air and two other privately owned Thai airlines, One-Two-Go and PB Air, Mr Yongyuth said.
Airlines that choose to remain at Suvarnabhumi would presumably be allowed to operate both international and domestic flights.
Don Muang was closed to commercial air traffic on September 28 when the 3.9-billion-dollar Suvarnabhumi was launched.
A host of infrastructural problems at Suvarnabhumi, including 100 cracks found in its taxiways and one of its two runway four months after it opened, prompted the government to give the go-ahead to reopen Don Muang should the new airport be forced to close for major repairs.
An initial investigation into Suvarnabhumni's cracks, however, revealed that the fissures and ruts were not serious and posed no safety threat.
Suvarnabhumi's problems have been highly politicised as the massive airport was the pet project of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup on September 19 on charges of corruption and dividing the nation. Bangkok Post
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