New Airport Opens?

[aaaaaa]

there was some news on local TV last night that new aiport opens soon. my wife told me that Don Muan will not be main airport anymore.

any more exact info ?

[Gazza]

there was some news on local TV last night that new aiport opens soon. my wife told me that Don Muan will not be main airport anymore.

any more exact info ?

With 300+ posts and you're from BKK....and last night is the first time you heard about a new airport???

Last I heard it was due to open around Sept. of this year.

That could be considered 'soon' because the new airport was in the planning stages for about 20(?) years.

It will be out on Bang Na Trad.

Edited January 24, 2005 by Gazza

[thaiflyer1]

there was some news on local TV last night that new aiport opens soon. my wife told me that Don Muan will not be main airport anymore.

any more exact info ?

With 300+ posts and you're from BKK....and last night is the first time you heard about a new airport???

..........

[Jockstar]

I think in reality. It wont open till the end of the year. This is Toxins great idea. Open it by September. Safety! Whats that? They will have to pass many safety issues. So maybe September but probably December.

[ovenman]

That could be considered 'soon' because the new airport was in the planning stages for about 20(?) years.

The new airport project has been rolling since 1960. Any opening date before 2020 could probably be considered real soon now.

[Digger]

I think in reality. It wont open till the end of the year. This is Toxins great idea. Open it by September. Safety! Whats that?  They will have to pass many safety issues. So maybe September but probably December.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Trust me the airport will be open in September - its been promised to the king.

However dont expect any flights to land there as no doubt some hitch with the imported (even if its not) luggage system will mean that whilst the airport is technically open, all planes will continue to land at Don Muang Oh by the way dont worry that the air traffic control tower is not finished because the airport has radar and its really just something for show, these days of computer technology mean a air traffic control tower is really just an icon . Oh and that second runway thats not completed has also been put on hold to allow the birds that live around the swamp to migrate in their own good time - but as soon as they are gone, the second runway will be finished. That because some of our NGO and nature groups wanted us to allow nature to take its course and of course for Karma, we agreed .

[astral]

As I understand it the new airport will handle international flights only.

The Domestic phase is at least a year later so passengers changing flights

will be faced with a transfer journey to Don Muang.

If Hongkong and KL are any example, there will be teething problems as well.

Probably better to do the tarvelling early in the year and then sit back and watch

when the opening time for Cobra Swamp (Suvarnhabumi) comes round.

[ovenman]

Probably better to do the tarvelling early in the year and then sit back and watch

when the opening time for Cobra Swamp (Suvarnhabumi) comes round. 

I'm dreading the initial couple years after the eventual opening of the new airport. I'm sure the airport itself will be very nice, new airports generally are. Transportation to/from is going to be quite a mess for a while. It doesn't look like the rail link will be complete for another three years, even if construction started today. Since the airport will be located kinda in the middle of nowhere as opposed to being on a main highway with a rail link as is Don Muang, I think the taxi mafia will have a field day at the Cobra Swamp for a while.

[aletta]

I was lead to believe that the old airport was to become government offices.

[SEAtramp]

Goverment offices,an international conference and exhibition center. Just three of many ideas being thrust about. There are no definate plans drawn up for Don Muang as of yet.

[grahamb]

If Hongkong and KL are any example, there will be teething problems as well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Let's hope Hong Kong is an example - there were teething problems on the first day (I knew someone on one of the first flights in that waited 2 hrs on the tarmac before getting a gate...) However after a few days, it was pretty much sorted and when I flew from there 2 weeks after it opened, it was working like a dream. I don't think the Airport Express was working then but it opened soon after. If only the new BKK airport opening went as well...

[aaaaaa]

there was some news on local TV last night that new aiport opens soon. my wife told me that Don Muan will not be main airport anymore.

any more exact info ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

With 300+ posts and you're from BKK....and last night is the first time you heard about a new airport???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ghhhhmmmm.... sorry ! I wasn't aware it is a sin/ crime !

well, as I said - I heard it from my wife who translated from Thai language news report - coz I can't understand Thai that much on my own .... and I didn't see any posts about it here for simple reason that I didn't know about it. trivial enough: how you one can search for something if even does not suspect about it's existence.

but, yeah, may be you are right - simply coz I'm from Bkk - is already enough reason to be guilty that I haven't heard of it ! ok - I confess and surrender - hang me !

wow! what a thrill !

Edited January 31, 2005 by aaaaaa

[Rinrada]

This was a statement made by the foreman at Christmas and must be correct.

Also more info on progress and other related topics from our friends at 2 bangers..

New airport to be opened in 2005

BANGKOK, Dec 25 (TNA) – Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said today he was optimistic that Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport would be completed and opened in 2005.

Mr. Thaksin said during his weekly radio broadcast this morning that the committee responsible for the administrative development of the new airport had assured him that the construction should be completed next September despite the slight delay in work.

By the end of 2005, the country will have a new airport and a new city, with an area of 250,000 rai, Mr. Thaksin said.

The new city could become an independent Suvarnabhumi city, like the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

A feasibility study and a review of the legal procedures are currently being conducted to see whether the new city is viable, and could become a twin city with Bangkok, he added.

http://www.2bangkok.com/

[bkk_mike]

Probably better to do the tarvelling early in the year and then sit back and watch

when the opening time for Cobra Swamp (Suvarnhabumi) comes round. 

I'm dreading the initial couple years after the eventual opening of the new airport. I'm sure the airport itself will be very nice, new airports generally are. Transportation to/from is going to be quite a mess for a while. It doesn't look like the rail link will be complete for another three years, even if construction started today. Since the airport will be located kinda in the middle of nowhere as opposed to being on a main highway with a rail link as is Don Muang, I think the taxi mafia will have a field day at the Cobra Swamp for a while.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Does anybody actually use the rail link at Don Muang?

Personally, so long as you don't mind paying for the expressway, if anything, the new airport should be easier to get to. There will be junctions to it from the Bangkok-Chonburi motorway (tolled), and the Bang Na Chonburi elevated motorway (tolled), and also from the untolled 6-lane (8-lane?) road underneath it.

All 3 are easy to get to from the Outer Ring Road, and the Bangkok-Chonburi leads off the from the east end of Rama IX (or the expressway that runs above Rama IX).

If you're going to Pattaya, the new airport should be a godsend, since the 3 roads that link to the airport are the main roads for going there, so you should bypass all of the Bangkok traffic.

Edited February 4, 2005 by bkk_mike

[ovenman]

Does anybody actually use the rail link at Don Muang?

I do. If I am arriving at Don Muang during the daytime and staying in Bangkok, I'll often drop by the railway station first and see if a train is going towards town shortly. The hotels I generally stay at in-town are all located near Hualumphong.