Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok still open despite flood threat

Don Mueang Airport general manager on Monday confirmed that the airport is still running normally even though the road in front of the airport has been inundated. Gp.Capt. Kanpat Mangkalasiri, however, suggested the customers should spare at least two hours before their check-in time as the traffic around the airport is hindered and 20 percent of the airport's flood-affected staff have taken leaves. If the level of floodwater rises above 30 centimeters in height, the airport administration will dredge the drainage ditch and use water pump to drain the water as quickly as possible. At noon, traffic police barricaded the Don Mueang Tollway outbound entry at Lak Si district following a report that Phahon Yothin road at the end of the tollway was covered in deep water. The tollway's inbound entry is still open and vehicles can still exit Don Mueang Tollway at the airport terminal. The airport has been used as the government's Flood Relief Operations Center since early October but now it is under flood threat as massive water runoff are heading toward and overflows from a canal nearby are flooding the area. Don Meaung is one of six districts the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had warned of possible floods and asked people to evacuate late Sunday night.