After almost 100 since the first flight took off, in 2006, Don Mueang International Airport (IATA: DMK) closed following the opening of the newly built Suvarnabhumi Airport (IATA: BKK). One year later, the airport located north of the Thai capital Bangkok was reopened for some domestic flights. Today, however, the airport serves an entirely different purpose, albeit (hopefully) only temporarily: it provides shelter to hundreds of people affected by Thailand’s worst floods in five decades. According to a CNN blog, the airport has also been used as the home of the flood relief operation command.

The airport has already a history of being used for other purposes other than commercial flights. In 1914 it was officially opened as a Royal Thai Air Force base and during the Vietnam War, Don Muang was a major command and logistics hub of the United States Air Force. Commercial aviation began in 1924 with the arrival of a KLM aircraft. Interestingly some people still refer to Don Mueang Airport with its former IATA code BKK which is now officially associated with the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. Don Mueang, which was spelled “Don Muang” now retains the three letter code DMK.

As for the devastating floods that currently threaten a large part of Thailand,they originate from the Chao Phraya and the Mekong River basin and began in late July. So far the floods have caused 307 reported deaths with over 2.3 million people being affected. Wikipedia claims the flooding has inundated about six million hectares of land, over 300,000 hectares of which is farmland, in fifty-eight provinces, from Chiang Mai in the North to parts of the capital city of Bangkok near the mouth of the Chao Phraya. It has been described as “the worst flooding yet in terms of the amount of water and people affected”.

As the situation in Thailand is changing rapidly, reports now even suggest that Don Mueang Airport is threatened by the water and that people were told to move to higher ground in order to escape the water. Thousands of people rely on the government to provide them with temporary accommodation after having had to leave their own homes.

Be sure to check with your travel agent or airline before travelling to Bangkok and other parts in Thailand. CNN provides up-to-date travel information for Bangkok and Thailand through their service CNNGo.

Update: According to a CNN report, the CEO of Nok Air announced the airline is canceling flights in and out of Don Muang Airport until October 31 due to the “flood crisis.” In the same report it was said that Pate Sarasin, CEO of Nok Air, posted a Twitter message saying “the water level is now at a critical area at the northern part of the runway.”

Update 2: An ABC report now quotes authorities who said the terminal had become too crowded and thousands of people displaced there would be relocated. The airport is now also closed for all commercial flights.

[The feature picture is a LateDeparture composition derived from Flickr photos by mikiane and nimboo - Some rights reserved]

On Saturday Miami’s International Airport (IATA: MIA; LD reviewed) surprised travelers with a free concert by the Miami Symphony Orchestra. The performance, titled Romantic Finale, was part of the MISO’s Music in Unsuspected Spaces program, and a perfect complement to the airport’s efforts to offer more art and culture, wrote the Miami Herald.

Less harmonic news arrived from the third US airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (IATA: MSP): A woman denied access to her flight to Salt Lake City for allegedly being drunk, bit a police officer while being restrained. The officer’s wound required that he be given baseline tests for hepatitis, AIDS and rabies, wrote the Star Tribune.

Speaking of animal type of behaviour, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport (IATA: BKK) made shocking headlines when a first class passenger on its way to Dubai was arrested after authorities found his suitcases were filled with exotic baby leopards, panthers, monkeys and a bear (not pictured). The animals are now safe and being cared for, writes ABC News.

Wow, what a week. After all this, how about a little time-out at a lovely Spanish beach? Sounds like a great idea? Try our friends over at Cheapflights for, well, cheap flights to Spain. Have a great week everyone and save travels!

[Photo from Flickr - Some rights reserved by florianrieder]

Named by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Suvarnabhumi (pronounced ‘su-wan-na-poom’) is the fourth largest airport terminal in the world and features 563,000 square meters of terminal space packed with amenities and traveller facilities. The terminal is sectioned into four main levels:

• Level one – bus and taxi lobby
• Level two – arrivals
• Level three – “Meeting Centre” packed with amenities and traveller facilities
• Level four – departures

Just 300 meters from the airport sits the four-star Novotel Suvarnabhumi Hotel, which is accessible via an underground walkway. The hotel has 600 rooms, as well as function rooms, restaurants, and spa and fitness centre.

Restaurants
There are approximately 50 different dining venues available within the airport terminal, with most offering comfortable seating areas. There is also a selection of proper restaurants to choose from. Dining facilities are arranged to best suit clientele and based to destination. For example, Asian eateries are housed in the eastern concourses near Japan Airlines and Thai Airways while European-style cuisine is offered in the western concourse near the gates which facilitate Europe and the USA. All dining venues are open 24 hours. This includes:

• Kinramen, which offers Japanese noodle dishes, rice with toppings, and a selection of sushi.
• Asian Corner, which is a buffet featuring a selection of fare ranging from Chinese dim sum to Korean BBQ.
• Mango Tree is an upscale Thai restaurant.
• Fast food outlets include Burger King, Dairy Queen, and Pizza Company as well as the Chinese Chow and Haru and Pitcher and Plane, which offers sandwiches.
• Four wine bars are located along Concourse D offering fine wine and seafood. Breakfast is served before 11 AM.
• Snack and deli corners, coffee shops, juice bars, and ice cream parlours are located throughout the terminal, including Starbucks and Britain’s own Whittard of Chelsea.

Shopping
Suvarnabhumi Airport also offers a wealth of duty-free shopping, with shops providing everything from liquor and tobacco to cosmetics and toys.

• There are several brands of perfumeries and cosmetics on offer, including Shiseido, Dr. Brant, Anna Sui, Provocateur, and PureLogicol. Products are presented in a long walk-through ‘street’ arrangement convenient for browsing.
• Fashion and boutique offerings include Salvatore Ferragamo, Burberry, Coach, Swarovski, Mont Blanc, Benetton, Mandarina Duck Lonchamp, and LeSportSac.
• Also on offer are a wide range of wines and spirits from around the world.
• In the Royal Project and OTOP area of Level 4, the traveller will find products from Thailand. Those bearing the Royal Project symbol do so as a mark of their excellence and quality. OTOP, which stands for “One Tambon, One Product” are products which are part of a scheme to encourage Thai villages to produce their own, unique products.

Getting to Downtown
For those leaving the airport, there are plenty of options for getting to downtown Bangkok, with transportation by taxi, airport bus, passenger bus, limousine, boat, train and even by helicopter available. Transportation costs are relatively cheap.

10. London Stansted blockade

Early December environmental activists have stopped flights at London’s Stansted airport (IATA: STN) after breaking through to the runway, raising security concerns at Britain’s third-busiest airport. The protests against a further expansion of the airport caused a serious knock-on effect on the airport’s flight operations causing over 50 flights to be cancelled.

9. Opening of Beijing airport Terminal 3

On March 26, Beijing airport (IATA: PEK) opened its new Terminal 3, designed by Sir Norman Foster, after four years of construction. It is the world’s largest airport building, covering more than a million square meters, designed to accommodate an estimated 50 million passengers a year by 2020.

8. Closure of Berlin’s iconic Tempelhof airport

Open one, close one; on the October 30, Berlin’s iconic Tempelhof airport closed down for good. Originally opened in 1923, the later built airport halls and neighbouring buildings, intended to become the gateway to Europe and a symbol of Hitler’s “world capital” Germania. Read our full coverage here.

7. Kalitta Air crash at Brussels airport

On Sunday, 25 May a Boeing 747 cargo plane overshot the runway at Brussels Zaventem airport (IATA: BRU) and crashed resulting the aircraft to break into 2 parts. The spectacular picture made the news everywhere.

6. Frightening landing at Hamburg’s airport

A low pressure system named “Emma” nearly caused a disaster at Hamburg airport (IATA: HAM) in March. The Lufthansa A320 plane struggled to make the runway through 90 kilometre-per-hour crosswinds resulting in the 39 year old pilots last minute go-around procedure and a safe second attempt. The frightening approach was caught on camera and is an extraordinary piece which will now probably be used all over the world in pilot training classrooms.

5. Hong Kong wins ‘Airport of the Year’ award

In July Hong Kong International airport (IATA: HKG) was named best Airport in the world, in the passenger survey results released by Skytrax. Despite being “only” rated in 5th place in the most-timely airport survey, Hong Kong received the prestigious award after Skytrax collected 8.2 million questionnaires completed by passengers over a 10-month time period. Read our congratulating article here.

4. Spanair crash at Madrid airport

A combination of basic pilot error and an electrical failure was the possible cause of the crash of a Spanair plane at Madrid’s Barajas airport (IATA: MAD) on 20 August that killed 154 people. The airport was closed for several hours after the accident.

3. Radar malfunction at Dublin airport

In the midst of the summer holiday season, Dublin airport (IATA: DUB) made the news with its malfunctioning radar system which meant that controllers lost some functionality on their screens meaning they were unable to see the labels attached to ‘blips’ that signify individual aircraft. The problem resulted in massive delays and many cancellations over several days.

2. Bangkok blockade

Protesters supporting the People’s Alliance for Democracy stormed Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport (IATA: BKK) in late November, occupying the departure lounge and blocking all exits. With that 3,000 people were stranded within the airport and another 350,000 were stranded within Thailand. Read our interview with an affected traveller.

1. Chaos at London Heathrow’s new Terminal 5

In March BAA, the company that owns Heathrow airport, opened its newest addition of what should have been a proud event for London’s most criticised airport. Instead, the opening resulted in a PR disaster with BAA losing thousands of bags over several months. The event then became one of the triggers leading to the demands of breaking up BAA’s monopolistic ownership of airports in the UK.

[Pictures from Flickr - some rights are reserved: London Stansted, Beijing, Berlin Tempelhof, Brussels airport, Hong Kong, Madrid, Dublin, Bangkok, London Heathrow