About 10 inbound flights were diverted to Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports as well as airports in Krabi, Langkawi, Penang and Surat Thani because pilots had no vision of the runway, Phuket airport director Monchai Tanode explained during the heavy rain yesterday.
Four outbound domestic flights could not take off from Phuket airport during the same period because they were waiting for passengers on the delayed incoming flights.
Flights QR842, EY430, TR658, G9687 and FD3029 were diverted to Krabi.
Other flights diverted included FD3001 to Surat Thani; WY833 to Langkawi; C8771 to Don Mueang; SU274 and VZ314 to Suvarnabhumi; and AI378 to Penang, reported the Bangkok Post.
Flights resumed at Phuket airport at 10:04am due to improved visibility, Mr Monchai said in a notice posted on the Airports of Thailand Phuket branch (AoT Phuket) official Facebook page.
He added that the airport itself was not flooded.
In a notice posted at 7:51pm last night, AoT Phuket confirmed, “At present, there are 16 flights out of a total of 17 flights that have returned [to Phuket airport]. There is only one flight remaining.”
Flight SU274/275 from Moscow to Phuket made a stopover at Suvarnabhumi Airport and was scheduled to fly to Phuket today, the notice added.
The flight crew were required to delay resuming their journey to Phuket due to crew rest requirements, AoT Phuket said.