Qualla: Don Mueang International Airport

Don Mueang International Airport: Introduction

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Donald Trung, CC BY-SA 4.0. There is a golf course between the runways. Royal Thai Air Force personnel play it while jets taxi past, held at the tee by a red light that flashes when aircraft are landing. No barrier separates fairway from tarmac. The arrangement is absurd, distinctly Thai, and somehow perfectly in keeping with an airport that has refused to follow the script written for it. Don Mueang was supposed to close permanently in September 2006. Instead it became, by 2015, the world's largest low-cost carrier airport, handling more budget airline passengers than Kuala Lumpur, Barcelona, or Las Vegas.

Image: Donald Trung | CC BY-SA 4.0

Don Mueang International Airport: Older Than Most Countries' Air Forces

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Donald Trung, CC BY-SA 4.0. Don Mueang was the second airfield established in Thailand, after Sra Pathum -- now the Royal Bangkok Sports Club horse racing course. The first flights arrived on 8 March 1914, transferring Royal Thai Air Force aircraft from Sra Pathum. Thailand's aviation history had begun just...

Image: Donald Trung | CC BY-SA 4.0

Don Mueang International Airport: Gateway to the Kingdom

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit CC BY-SA 3.0. For most of the twentieth century, Don Mueang was Thailand. It was the country's face to arriving travelers, the hub for Thai Airways International, and one of the busiest airports in Asia. At its peak in 2004, it handled over 38 million passengers, 160,000 flights, and nearly 70...

Image: CC BY-SA 3.0

Don Mueang International Airport: Death and Resurrection

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit MNXANL, CC BY-SA 4.0. Suvarnabhumi Airport was supposed to replace Don Mueang entirely. The handover happened on the night of 27-28 September 2006, and the BKK code migrated east to the new facility. Don Mueang was redesignated DMK and fell silent. But Suvarnabhumi's higher operating costs and cracked...

Image: MNXANL | CC BY-SA 4.0

Don Mueang International Airport: The Budget Hub That Won

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nutjaru, CC BY-SA 4.0. Today Don Mueang operates as the main base for Nok Air, Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X, and Thai Lion Air. Terminal 1 handles international flights; Terminal 2 serves domestic routes. A glass-enclosed elevated walkway connects them and leads to the adjacent Amari hotel. By 2019, th...

Image: Nutjaru | CC BY-SA 4.0