AirAsia moving to Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport

Bangkok’s older airport Don Mueang PHOTO FROM DONMUANGAIRPORTONLINE.COM

BANGKOK—Low-cost carrier AirAsia will move all its Thai operations from Bangkok’s main gateway Suvarnabhumi to the city’s second-biggest airport Don Mueang by October 1, the airline announced.

“The uncongested Don Mueang Airport is sure to prove a benefit to AirAsia when it boosts its fleet of Airbus A320s to a total of 48 and welcomes more customers,” Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld said in a statement.

“The airport’s location also makes it conducive to further travel,” he added.

Passengers who are affected by the switch can reschedule their flight or exchange the ticket for a credit to be used within the next 90 days, it said.

Don Mueang International Airport, in the north of the city, was forced to close for about four months from late October 2011 after the kingdom’s worst floods in decades submerged the runways.

Suvarnabhumi, one of Asia’s busiest airports, is located to the east of the capital and was not flooded.