Repairing Don Mueang

[Fireman Sam 336]

Could the cost of repairing Don Mueang be the final death knell for the old Airport, or are there too many vested interests there for that to happen ??

 

What do you reckon ?

 

Personally I would like to see everything transfered to Swampy full time now.

 

 

Regards

[bigdelta 46]

Does the military have a presence there?

 

 

Could the cost of repairing Don Mueang be the final death knell for the old Airport, or are there too many vested interests there for that to happen ??

 

What do you reckon ?

 

Personally I would like to see everything transfered to Swampy full time now.

 

 

Regards

[glynbuk 29]

Could the cost of repairing Don Mueang be the final death knell for the old Airport, or are there too many vested interests there for that to happen ??

 

What do you reckon ?

 

Personally I would like to see everything transfered to Swampy full time now.

 

 

Regards

 

Is there another airport in Bangkok area that could take long distance flights if something were to happen to Suvarnabhumi ???

[Gus 97]

Utapao near to Rayong/Pattaya was used when the coloured shirts brigade were out and about at Swampy.

It has a very long runway but not very good immigration/customs/passenger facilites.

 

People called Suvarnabhumi "Swampy" but it appears to be standing up quite well to the floods.

[joekicker 53]

Does the military have a presence there?

 

Don Muang is an airbase. Part of it is allowed for civilian operations.

 

Is there another airport in Bangkok area that could take long distance flights if something were to happen to Suvarnabhumi ???

 

The reason for an alternate is safety. No country can afford to have a standby airport with all facilities to handle the regular amount of flights. In 2008, Utapao was used to take people out of the country, not as a substitute for regular airport operations. If events become really bad in any place, then airport operations are shut down, not shifted wholesale to some (mythical) standby airport.

 

Utapao is an EXCELLENT alternate airport. It was an alternate for the space shuttle.

 

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Edited November 12, 2011 by joekicker

[bigdelta 46]

I actually flew into Utapao back in the day when it was an airbase.That's how I got to Pattaya the 1st time.

[joekicker 53]

I actually flew into Utapao back in the day when it was an airbase.That's how I got to Pattaya the 1st time.

 

Talk about coincidence. It still is an airbase.

 

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[Fireman Sam 336]

Does the military have a presence there?

 

Pretty sure that the Royal Thai Airforce has their headquarters there. Also a Thai Airways maintenance facility situated there I think.

 

 

Utapao near to Rayong/Pattaya was used when the coloured shirts brigade were out and about at Swampy.

It has a very long runway but not very good immigration/customs/passenger facilites.

 

People called Suvarnabhumi "Swampy" but it appears to be standing up quite well to the floods.

 

 

Although the floods have reached the Lat Krabang area not sure if they have actually reached the defensive walls surrounding swampy yet. Hope not as I arrive at swampy on the 26th November.

 

 

I travel between both airports 10-12 times per year, Don Mueang IMHO is well past it's sell by date, even with Nok Air moving to terminal one the old international terminal. Make life a lot simpler if they relocated to swampy on a permanent basis, although I doubt that will happen until the new domestic terminal is/ever built at swampy.

 

Regards

[joekicker 53]

Pretty sure that the Royal Thai Airforce has their headquarters there. Also a Thai Airways maintenance facility situated there I think.

 

The Royal Thai Air Force allows Thai Airways International and others to use the Don Muang air base, which is where the headquarters of the RTAF are located. "Allows" in exchange for significant money, of course.

 

Although the floods have reached the Lat Krabang area not sure if they have actually reached the defensive walls surrounding swampy yet. Hope not as I arrive at swampy on the 26th November.

 

Lat Krabang isn't flooded, although it has had overflow from the klong a few times now for hours at a time. The "wall of water floods from the North" if you get my tortured shorthand, hasn't got anywhere near Suvarnabhumi - but there's lots of water at the airport because of natural drainage and rains. Pumps and an excellent system of drains have taken care of it - water off a duck's back so to speak, no sweat.

 

Bangkok will be de-flooded by Nov. 26. The floods won't be an issue. You'll have to search very hard for any last, remaining floods in remote Bangkok corners. I don't predict very often, but I predict this. The floods are history as of tomorrow, it's just a question of pumping, now.

 

There are two reasons Don Muang airport still exists. One, the generals don't want to move to Korat. Two, inertia. It has no ACTUAL value. There have been more ideas of what to do with Don Muang than you can count, but none of them is viable.

 

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[jacko 8,815]

Utapao near to Rayong/Pattaya was used when the coloured shirts brigade were out and about at Swampy.

It has a very long runway but not very good immigration/customs/passenger facilites.

 

People called Suvarnabhumi "Swampy" but it appears to be standing up quite well to the floods.

Yes they put a fair effort into that, making sure it doesn't flood. I wonder why Bangkok did though?