This opened yesterday and I was on one of the first flights to land at what is now the largest airport in South East Asia. Just as we were coming in to land it occurred to me that the pilot had probably never landed at this airport before and so this was his first attempt! Luckily he did a good job though. This is the photo I took from the plane, which doesn’t really do it justice. It is mind blowing how big, modern and ornate it is. They basically have gone all out to try and be bigger and better than Hong Kong, Singapore and KL, all amazing airports, who are all now apparently planning to increase their capacity again.

I found some better photos from the construction phase.

It amazes me how developing nations like Thailand just get that they have to invest heavily in infrastructure. The cost must have been massive but in this case, build and they will come. There will now be more flights with more tourists and more business people than ever before coming through Bangkok. This is essential for a high growth economy. Meanwhile, back in NZ, you still can’t land 747’s at Wellington Airport, the capital.

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