Don Mueang Airport ranks among the most dangerous airports in the world

[webfact]

 

The renowned travel website, The Boutique Adventurer, has ranked Don Mueang Airport as one of the 29 most dangerous airports in the world in 2023. In a recent article published at the end of June 2023, the website revealed the list of the most perilous airports, with Don Mueang Airport securing the 26th position.

 

According to the report, the list of hazardous airports is not limited to those under development in various countries, as established airports are also included. Countries such as the United States, France, Japan, and Norway have their airports featured in the rankings.

 

The danger and ranking of airports are determined based on multiple factors, including altitude, wind patterns, runway length, location, as well as social, political, and volatile events.
 

Most Dangerous Airports in the World (2023)

 

1. Kansai International Airport Japan 

2. Barra International Airport (Scotland)

3. Wellington International Airport (New Zealand)

4. Princess Juliana International Airport (Saint Martin)

5. Lukla Airport (Nepal) 

6. Paro Airport (Bhutan)

7. Santos Dumont Airport (Brazil)

8. McMurdo Station (Antarctica)

9. Svalbard Airport (Norway)

10. Gustaf III Airport (Caribbean)

11. Saba Airport (Dutch Caribbean)

12. Gisborne Airport (New Zealand)

13. Madeira Airport (Portugal)

14. Narsarsuaq Airport (Greenland)

15. Gibraltar International Airport (Gibraltar)

16. San Diego International Airport (California, USA)

17. Toncontín International Airport (Honduras)

18. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (Colorado, USA)

19. Alejandro Velasco Astete Cusco International Airport (Peru)

20. Kai Tak Airport (Hong Kong) [While this airport might have seen its final flight in 1998, this closed-down plane hub in Hong Kong is still worth a mention due to its historically hair-raising landings of the past.] 

21. Agatti Aerodrome/Airport (India)

22. Cleveland Hopkins International (Cleveland, USA)

23. Telluride Regional Airport (Colorado, USA)

24. Congonhas-Sao Paulo Airport (Brazil)

25. Courchevel Airport (France)

26. Don Mueang International Airport (Thailand)

27. Tioman Island Airport (Malaysia)

28. Shimla Airport (India)

29. Damascus International Airport (Syria)

 

The top-ranked airport is Kansai International Airport in Japan, primarily due to its vulnerable location prone to natural disasters, particularly earthquakes and seasonal typhoons.

 

Don Mueang Airport, formerly known as Bangkok International Airport, initially commenced operations on March 27, 1914, before temporarily closing in 2006. 

 

Top Photo: Sanook

#news

 

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[sammieuk1]

At least its not last then it could be renamed Don Damascus ???? 

[soi3eddie]

Lack of reason given as to why DMK is ranked as it is. Two long runways, no altitude issues, winds never normally an issue, sure there can be heavy rains but that's same in any SE Asian airport. Can be a bit misty early mornings though. It has full ILS and tech etc. Would have been nice to know why it got the ranking it did. Only crash there that I can recall was the Qantas 747 that went off the end of the runway in 1999.

 

[ezzra]

1 minute ago, soi3eddie said:

Lack of reason given as to why DMK is ranked as it is. Two long runways, no altitude issues, winds never normally an issue, sure there can be heavy rains but that's same in any SE Asian airport. Can be a bit misty early mornings though. It has full ILS and tech etc. Would have been nice to know why it got the ranking it did. Only crash there that I can recall was the Qantas 747 that went off the end of the runway in 1999.

 

Although i have used DM many times with full confidante it has its fair share of troubles

• On 25 December 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.
• On 27 April 1980 – Thai Airways Flight 231, a BAe 748 which was en route from Khon Kaen to Bangkok, lost altitude during a thunderstorm and crashed about 13 km from Bangkok International Airport. All four crew members and 40 of the 49 passengers were killed.
• On 1 April 1981 – Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus) raided hijacked Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 which was en route from Palembang to Polonia Airport (hijacked in Indonesian airspace). All 48 passengers safe, seven fatalities (one commando, one co-pilot, five terrorists). Imran bin Muhammad Zein, hijacker leader, captured.
• On 9 September 1988 – Vietnam Airlines Flight 831 crashed while on approach to Don Mueang International Airport. 76 of the 90 passengers and crew on board were killed.
• On 26 May 1991 – Lauda Air Flight 004, a Boeing 767-300ER (registered OE-LAV, named Mozart) which was headed to Vienna, suffered an in-flight deployment of the thrust reverser on the No. 1 engine after taking off from Don Mueang. There were no survivors from the 213 passengers and 10 crew.
• On 21 January 1992 – Douglas VC-47D L2-41/15/210 of the Royal Thai Air Force was damaged beyond repair in a landing accident.^[73]
• On 23 September 1999 – Qantas Flight 1, in what was then the most serious incident in the airline's famously safe jet aircraft history, a Boeing 747-400 overshot the runway causing significant damage but no casualties.
• On 3 March 2001 – Thai Airways International Flight 114, a Boeing 737-400 (registered HS-TDC, named Narathiwat), bound for Chiang Mai from Bangkok, was destroyed by an explosion and fire that occurred about 35 minutes before Thaksin Shinawatra, later to become Prime Minister of Thailand, 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. Subsequently, NTSB investigators reported that the central fuel tank had exploded followed by the right tank 18 minutes later. The cause for the explosion was unclear, though some speculate it was an assassination attempt based on chemicals found during the subsequent investigation.

 

[herfiehandbag]

The inclusion of McMurdo Station in Antarctica (!) and Kai Tak which has been closed for 25 years rather reduces this reports credibility!

[Crossy]

Nothing about woman-eating escalators then ...

 

 

 

[Artisi]

29 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

The inclusion of McMurdo Station in Antarctica (!) and Kai Tak which has been closed for 25 years rather reduces this reports credibility!

It's a non news event anyway, just another money wasting supposed intelligent useless research of no value. 

[LS24]

18 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Nothing about woman-eating escalators then ...

 

 

Yes, read that today. It is shocking. Hard to imagine how the chain of events took place to cause such a horrific injury.

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

Nothing about woman-eating escalators then ...

Yes, horrific. 

That would put DMG a bit higher then!

[mikebell]

47 minutes ago, LS24 said:

Yes, read that today. It is shocking. Hard to imagine how the chain of events took place to cause such a horrific injury.

Locking the barn door after the horse has bolted.  Nothing ever gets serviced until AFTER a tragedy.

[KhunBENQ]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

Although i have used DM many times with full confidante it has its fair share of troubles

How many of the plane crashes can you stick to DMK?

If Lauda Air thrust reverser goes on midflight this is a BOEING disaster.

Design failure.
Lauda went through the courts to clarify this.

Planes crashing miles away ON THE WAY to DMK: what would you stick this to?

[Emdog]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

Although i have used DM many times with full confidante it has its fair share of troubles

• On 25 December 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.
• On 27 April 1980 – Thai Airways Flight 231, a BAe 748 which was en route from Khon Kaen to Bangkok, lost altitude during a thunderstorm and crashed about 13 km from Bangkok International Airport. All four crew members and 40 of the 49 passengers were killed.
• On 1 April 1981 – Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus) raided hijacked Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 which was en route from Palembang to Polonia Airport (hijacked in Indonesian airspace). All 48 passengers safe, seven fatalities (one commando, one co-pilot, five terrorists). Imran bin Muhammad Zein, hijacker leader, captured.
• On 9 September 1988 – Vietnam Airlines Flight 831 crashed while on approach to Don Mueang International Airport. 76 of the 90 passengers and crew on board were killed.
• On 26 May 1991 – Lauda Air Flight 004, a Boeing 767-300ER (registered OE-LAV, named Mozart) which was headed to Vienna, suffered an in-flight deployment of the thrust reverser on the No. 1 engine after taking off from Don Mueang. There were no survivors from the 213 passengers and 10 crew.
• On 21 January 1992 – Douglas VC-47D L2-41/15/210 of the Royal Thai Air Force was damaged beyond repair in a landing accident.^[73]
• On 23 September 1999 – Qantas Flight 1, in what was then the most serious incident in the airline's famously safe jet aircraft history, a Boeing 747-400 overshot the runway causing significant damage but no casualties.
• On 3 March 2001 – Thai Airways International Flight 114, a Boeing 737-400 (registered HS-TDC, named Narathiwat), bound for Chiang Mai from Bangkok, was destroyed by an explosion and fire that occurred about 35 minutes before Thaksin Shinawatra, later to become Prime Minister of Thailand, 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. Subsequently, NTSB investigators reported that the central fuel tank had exploded followed by the right tank 18 minutes later. The cause for the explosion was unclear, though some speculate it was an assassination attempt based on chemicals found during the subsequent investigation.

 

Seems most of those crashes were due to factors the airport had no control over: terrorist attacks, equipment failures while in flight (maybe ground crew problem, there... I don't know). Crashes coming in for landing: pilot error or poor air traffic controllers? 1980 weather related crash: fault of the airport?

Without more info on results of investigation as to cause and blame (if any), the stats seem fairly meaningless

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Yes, horrific. 

That would put DMG a bit higher then!

The whole article focuses only on the aviation features of the airports.

Nothing about quality/convenience/safety of the airports for passengers.

Where would Paris Charles De Gaulle be on such a list?

Worst airport experience I had.

 

[KhunBENQ]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The renowned travel website, The Boutique Adventurer

Every day I learn a new "renowned ... website".

Empty phrase.

[2baht]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The renowned travel website, The Boutique Adventurer, has ranked Don Mueang Airport as one of the 29 most dangerous airports in the world in 2023.

..................couple this with the deadly roads and hey, Thailand, you have serious safety issues! I guess they'll just remain in denial!..............................What's for lunch?

[rbkk]

The immigration officers are a highly dangerous breed. It must be that.

[sirineou]

4 hours ago, Crossy said:

Nothing about woman-eating escalators then .

How can a woman be eating escalators? It's virtually Impossible  ????

 

Sorry I could not resist,  If not now , when will I ever get to use that line? I did see the hyphen

[RandolphGB]

Firstly it's not a renowned website. 

 

Secondly, it's a clickbait article listing unusual airports. No stats or data show why the airports are listed there.

 

The Thaiger is an abomination. 

[h90]

6 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Lack of reason given as to why DMK is ranked as it is. Two long runways, no altitude issues, winds never normally an issue, sure there can be heavy rains but that's same in any SE Asian airport. Can be a bit misty early mornings though. It has full ILS and tech etc. Would have been nice to know why it got the ranking it did. Only crash there that I can recall was the Qantas 747 that went off the end of the runway in 1999.

 

ChatGPT...write me an article about most dangerous airports.

Remove Disneyland and Antarctica airport...there are no airports.

OK we print it....

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

The renowned travel website, The Boutique Adventurer, has ranked Don Mueang Airport as one of the 29 most dangerous airports in the world in 2023. In a recent article published at the end of June 2023, the website revealed the list of the most perilous airports, with Don Mueang Airport securing the 26th position.

Put a spin on that TAT

[alanrchase]

7 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Lack of reason given as to why DMK is ranked as it is. Two long runways, no altitude issues, winds never normally an issue, sure there can be heavy rains but that's same in any SE Asian airport. Can be a bit misty early mornings though. It has full ILS and tech etc. Would have been nice to know why it got the ranking it did. Only crash there that I can recall was the Qantas 747 that went off the end of the runway in 1999.

 

If you click the link to the publication and click on Don Muang the reasons given are the golf course between the two runways and that the airport flooded in 2011.

[Olmate]

4 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Put a spin on that TAT

Why worry. !  No 20 Hongkong has been closed 15yrs. Really credible travelsite??? 

[youngster30uk]

3 hours ago, Emdog said:

Seems most of those crashes were due to factors the airport had no control over: terrorist attacks, equipment failures while in flight (maybe ground crew problem, there... I don't know). Crashes coming in for landing: pilot error or poor air traffic controllers? 1980 weather related crash: fault of the airport?

Without more info on results of investigation as to cause and blame (if any), the stats seem fairly meaningless

Depends on your perspective, whilst mostly they have nothing to do with DMK itself, if you consider the question ' travelling to which airports are you most likely to be involved in an incident' then they become relevant

[ignore it]

Years ago the saying used to be "Cleveland, you got to be tough."

(Merch still available on line)

[bbbbooboo]

hmmm.....why am i not surprised ? TIT

[Guderian]

I never regarded Don Muang as dangerous in the days before Swampy opened. I especially liked the fact that you could get a cold beer right by the departure gate, I miss that in Swampy. Since nothing much has changed on the air disaster front that I'm aware of, maybe it's classed as dangerous because of roaming gangs of feral ladyboys inside the terminal building, or Chinese triads kidnapping young women passengers and shipping them back to wealthy bachelors in Shanghai, lol?

[sqwakvfr]

“come on”.  I used to fly out of Kabul (KBL), Bagram, Kandahar and Baghdad and they didnt even make the list.  One is more likely to get in accident on the way  to DMK or even get into an escalator accident while walking to the gate.  

[spidermike007]

Another list has it listed as the 13th most dangerous in the world. Seems the golf course is just one of the issues. I always thought it was bizarre.

 

Servicing Bangkok, Thailand, there is nothing particularly special about Don Mueang International Airport except that there is a golf course in between two of the airport's runways. Despite the reasonably conventional design of the airport, a large number of flights both landing here and originating here have crashed. While there are different reasons for each crash, the fact that many of these flights are tied to this airport is a scary one. Does this make the airport suspect? Not necessarily. There has to be an airport that has a higher crash-to-successful landing ratio, this airport just happens to be it!

 

https://wanderwisdom.com/transportation/Most-Dangerous-Airports

 

This list has it ranked at #9.

When you look at it for a distance, you will notice that the airport looks like any other normal airport. But when you see it closely from a distance you will be amazed to spot that the very famous Don Mueang International Airport has a golf course exactly in the middle of the two runways. The airport was originally constructed for military operations but it now serves as an airport for just commercial airlines. Besides, the gold course in the centre has been barred for public access due to security and safety concerns. Many people can be heard saying how surreal the golf course location is and even if they dared or wished to opt for a golf session will be interrupted with an aeroplane flying just 20 yards away.

 

https://liamtra.com/blog/top-10-dangerous-airports-in-the-world/

 

It is also ranked 4/10 overall, on Skytrax.

 

https://www.airlinequality.com/airport-reviews/bangkok-don-muang-airport/

[hkt83100]

DMK is still high on my list of favorite airports following VIE. The service was always great and immigration was much quicker than at BKK. My first arrival in 1992 was a matter of 10 minutes from disembarking to saying hello to my pickup person. Thanks, DMK!

[dogfish180]

I'd say:

Bagram Airport in Afghanistan

Zaporzhia Airport in Ukraine

Bassel Al Assad airport in Syria

 

are far more dangerous