As the old airport in North Bangkok prepares to reopen for certain domestic flights tomorrow , a new question has emerged. But this is not about runways or possible transfer headaches. Instead, it's about how to spell the name of the airport using the Roman alphabet. Passers-by might be surprised to see signs at the domestic terminal, saying Don Mueang instead of Don Muang, as it had always been written in the past.
The confusion over the spelling is clear in promotional materials of the national carrier, Thai Airways International. A recent advertisement in local newspapers cited the name of the airport using the new spelling, but the airline's website is spelling it the old way. The ad says ''Smooth as silk via Don Mueang for THAI domestic flights,'' but a headline on the website reads: ''THAI announces domestic operations at Don Muang airport.''
But despite some misgivings that others may have over the change of spelling, airport director Pinit Saraithong has insisted that Don Mueang is the correct way to spell it using Roman characters.
After an order from the government and Airports of Thailand Plc to move domestic flights from Suvarnabhumi back to the 93-year-old airport, one of Mr Pinit's first questions was how to spell the name of the airport correctly in English, he said.
''Until now we never had this name. We only had Bangkok International Airport as the official name,'' he said.
But the official name of Bangkok International Airport was passed to the new Suvarnabhumi airport when it opened last year, which meant the name Don Muang, as it had been unofficially known in the past, would now become the old airport's official name.
So Mr Pinit turned to linguistic experts, including the Royal Institute and Chulalongkorn University's faculty of arts, to garner advice on the English spelling of the old airport's name. All experts he spoke to at these and other language institutes agreed it should be Mueang, not Muang as it had always been before, he said.
''This problem gave me such a headache,'' he said. ''Now I have to keep all evidence with me to back up that decision.''
The airport will offer services for all domestic flights by One-Two-Go and Nok Air tomorrow . THAI is also moving most of its domestic services to Don Mueang.
One-Two-Go and Nok Air will test the airport by landing some inbound flights at the old airport this evening .
Welcome to Don Mueang airport.
Source : Bangkok Post
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