This was published 1 year ago
Airport review: Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok
By Mark Daffey
Don Mueang's Terminal 1 is now a budget airline hub and Terminal 2 is used purely for domestic arrivals and departures.Credit: Alamy
THE FLIGHT
AirAsia FD 610 from Bangkok, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
THE ARRIVAL
After flying into Bangkok from Chiang Rai, I'm supposed to stay the night in Sukhumvit before I catch another plane to Cambodia next morning. But a cab ride will take two hours through Bangkok's busy suburban traffic to get to the airport so I cancel the booking and stay in a reasonably priced hotel across the busy road from the airport. The cab ride takes 10 minutes, saving time and money.
THE LOOK
All international and domestic flights once passed through Don Mueang, Bangkok's original airport. Most full-service international flights have since been rerouted through Suvarnabhumi Airport, which opened in 2006, with Don Mueang's Terminal 1 now a budget airline hub and the sprawling Terminal 2 used purely for domestic arrivals and departures.
CHECK IN
At the airport, there's no one in front of us at the check-in counter, with plenty of AirAsia staff available to process our tickets. Being a budget airline, I expect our hand luggage to be weighed. No one does.
SECURITY
The sign at Immigration warning travellers to expect a two-minute wait is overly generous. We're straight through Customs as well. From the moment we left our hotel near the airport, it has taken the three of us just 25 minutes to enter the departure lounge – surely, a world record. A bus transports us across the tarmac to our plane from our departure gate downstairs.
FOOD AND DRINK
Although it's a low-cost carrier terminal, food prices are still heavily inflated. There's a lot less choice inside the international terminal than its domestic counterpart, which I had transited through when flying from Phuket to Chiang Rai. Keep walking if the usual Western offerings of Starbuck's, McDonald's or Subway don't appeal; there are arguably better choices near Gate 21. Freshy Bar has the best choice of pre-packaged sandwiches. Downstairs, opposite Gate 4, a Dairy Queen and Noodle Express are sandwiched into a space normally reserved for one or the other. Water fountains inside the airport are fine to drink from, and there's a vending machine selling drinks, chocolates and two-minute noodles.
RETAIL THERAPY
You won't dent your credit card balance here, unless overpriced items from boutique outlets like Michael Kors, Coach or MCM fit within your budget. They'll be the first stores you'll see after passing through Customs. Duty Free outlets offering alcohol , fragrances and sweets are next. Then you'll find half a dozen currency exchange booths and a Boots pharmacy. Gourmet Thai sells packaged Thai snacks, dried fruits and desserts if you're looking to buy last-minute gifts with a local flavour. Strangely, for what's essentially a shopping mall, I couldn't find an ATM.
PASSING TIME
Priority Pass members can access the only lounge in the terminal after The Coral Executive Lounge closed its doors during COVID-19. Plenty of other retail spaces were also vacant. Evidently, the pandemic took a heavy toll here. Free charging stations are scattered around the terminal and I'm allowed one hour of free WiFi, which was easy logging into. Oh, there's a golf course beside one of the runways too. Best to check that slice off the tee though if you want to avoid being that person who caused an aerial disaster.
THE VERDICT
Barely clinging to life. It's not nearly as busy or big as the domestic terminal.
OUR RATING OUT OF FIVE
★★½
The writer was a guest of the Minor Hotels group that includes the Anantara and Avani brands.
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