Airline companies were first notified by a Notice to Airmen (Notam) that the airport would be closed to passengers on Sunday following the accident on August 1. After being closed until August 3, the airport will be operational from Friday, August 5 at 10 pm after the closure was extended.
On Saturday night, August 1, a Nok Air plane skidded off the runway in Chiang Rai.
On Saturday night, Nok Air flight DD108 from Bangkok skidded off the runway during landing and got stuck in the mud. This caused all flights in and out of the airport to be suspended on Sunday morning. DD108 of Nok Air was attempting to land in heavy rain at around 9 pm on Saturday when the accident occurred. It flew from Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport with 164 passengers and six crew members.
The incident was classified as ‘severe’ by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. A 90-second evacuation schedule for “crashed” planes was not met by cabin crews, leaving 164 passengers on board for more than an hour, sparking outrage among passengers. The cabin crew followed the “highest safety procedures,” Nok Air explained in a statement.