DON MUEANG AIRPORT HISTORY

Don Mueang (International) Airport (IATA: DMK, ICAO: VTBD) (or also (Old) Bangkok International Airport) (Thai: ท่าอากาศยานกรุงเทพ, also Don Muang) is an airport in Bangkok, Thailand. It was officially opened as a Royal Thai Air Force base on March 27, 1914, although it had been in use earlier. Commercial flights started in 1924. Closed following the opening of Suvarnabhumi Airport in 2006, flights resumed at Don Mueang on March 24, 2007.

Don Mueang was an important hub of Asia and the hub of Thai Airways International prior to its closure. At its peak, it served most air traffic in Thailand, with 80 airlines operating 160,000 flights and handling over 38,000,000 passengers and 700,000 tons of cargo in 2005. It was then the 18th busiest airport in the world and 2nd in Asia by passenger volume.

On September 28, 2006 the airport was replaced by Suvarnabhumi Airport. Don Mueang became a facility for charter flights, military aircraft and civil aviation. However, the airport was reopened for non-connecting domestic commercial flights again on March 24th, 2007. Three airlines are now using the airport, which includes Thai Airways, Nok Air, and One 2 Go airlines. The airport is now in operation along with Suvarnabhumi Airport. ^[1]

Don Mueang is a joint-use facility with the Royal Thai Air Force's Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base, being the home of the RTAF 1st Air Division, consisting primarily of non-combat aircraft. Vibhavadi Rangsit Road is the main route linking the airport with downtown Bangkok. The Uttaraphimuk Elevated Tollway, running above Vibhavadi Rangsit, offers a more rapid option for getting into the city and connects to Bangkok's inner city expressway network. Besides travel by road, there is rail service connecting with Hua Lamphong station in the centre of Bangkok. The train station is across the highway and linked with the airport by walkway bridge. There is a RTAF golf course located between the two runways. The course has no separation from the runway, and golfers are only held back by a red light when planes land. In the aerial/satellite pictures below one can see the greens and bunkers quite well.

History

FAA diagram

The airfield was the second in Thailand, after Sa Pathum, which was actually a part of the Sa Pathum horse racing course. The first flights to Don Mueang were made on March 8, 1914 and involved the transfer of aircraft of the Royal Thai Air Force. In 1911 Thailand had sent three army officers to France to train as pilots. On completion of their training, the pilots had been authorized to purchase four Breguets and four Nieuports, which formed the basis of the Royal Thai Air Force.

Commercial service to Don Mueang began in 1924. The first commercial flight was an arrival by KLM.

The airfield was used by the Japanese during World War II, and was bombed and strafed by Allied aircraft on several occasions.

During the Vietnam War, Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base was a major command and logistics hub of the United States Air Force.

Before the opening of Suvarnabhumi, the airport used the IATA airport code BKK and the name was spelled Don Muang. After Suvarnabhumi opened for commercial flights, the spelling was changed and as Don Mueang it now uses the airport code DMK, though it still retains the ICAO airport code VTBD.

History of disasters and near-disasters

• December 25, 1976 - EgyptAir Flight 864, a Boeing 707-300 bound for Bangkok from Cairo, crashed into an industrial area near the airport during a landing attempt. All 53 aboard were killed.
• April 27, 1980 - a Thai Airways BAe 748 enroute from Khon Kaen to Bangkok lost altitude during a thunderstorm and crashed about 8 miles from Bangkok International Airport. All four crew members and 40 of the 49 passengers were killed. [1]
• 1981: The Hijacking of Flight Garuda Indonesia GA 206 on 28 March 1981. This was the first serious Indonesian airline hijacking, since the first was a desperate Marine hijacker who was killed by the pilot himself. The hijackers, a group called Commando Jihad, hijacked the DC 9 "Woyla", onroute from Palembang to Medan, and ordered the pilot to fly the plane to Colombo, Sri Lanka. But since the plane didn't have enough fuel, it refueled in Penang, Malaysia and then to Don Mueang, Thailand. The hijackers demanded the release of Commando Jihad members imprisoned in Indonesia, and US $ 1.5 million, as well as a plane to take those prisoners to an unspecified destination. The Kopassus commandos who took part in this mission, trained for only three days with totally unfamiliar weapons, brilliantly executed this fast-paced operation. One of the Kopassus commandos was shot by the hijacker leader, who then shot himself. All the other hijackers were killed and the hostages were rescued.
• November 29, 1987 - Korean Air Flight 858, flying from Abu Dhabi International Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to Don Mueang to Gimpo Airport near Seoul, South Korea, exploded over the Andaman Sea after a bomb planted by North Korean agents exploded. Everyone on board died.
• May 26, 1991 - Lauda Air Flight 004, which was headed to Wien-Schwechat International Airport in Vienna, suffered an in-flight deployment of the thrust reverser on the No. 1 engine after taking off from Don Mueang. Among the 213 passengers and 10 crew, there were no survivors.
• If Project Bojinka had not been discovered after a fire in Manila, one or more aircraft owned by U.S. carriers flying to Bangkok would have blown up over the Pacific Ocean on January 21, 1995 as part of the project's first phase.
• 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 Mueang to Hong Kong, rolled upside down on the runway. The plane came to rest upside down. 3 of the passengers died.
• September 23, 1999 - Qantas Flight 1, in what was the most serious incident in the airline's famously safe jet aircraft history, saw a Boeing 747-400 overshoot the runway causing significant damage, but no casualties.
• March 3, 2001 - a Thai Airways International Boeing 737-400 (HS-TDC), bound for Chiang Mai from Bangkok, was destroyed by an explosion and fire that occurred about 35 minutes before the Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and about 150 other passengers were to board. Five members of the cabin crew were aboard, and one was killed. Witnesses said they heard an explosion before flames erupted aboard the aircraft. NTSB investigators reported that the center fuel tank exploded followed by the right tank 18 minutes later. The cause for the explosion was unclear. No traces of explosive were found. The center fuel tank is located near air conditioning packs which generate heat, and were running nonstop prior to the explosion.[2]
• April 19, 2005 - a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ER stopped approximately 194 meters beyond a painted stop line at Bangkok International Airport, and its left wing-tip was clipped by a Thai Airways International Airbus A330-300 taxiing for take-off. Both aircraft were severely damaged. There were no injuries.

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