Fire breaks out at Khon Kaen airport, flights cancelled

A fire broke out at the power control room of the Khon Kaen International Airport early on Friday, prompting all flights to be cancelled during the first half of the day.

The web page of the airport announced that a short circuit occurred in the electricity control room on the third floor of the main building of the airport at 5am.

The page said the airport’s service had to be temporarily closed and passengers must contact their airlines – Nok Air, Lion Air, Thai Smiles and Thai AirAsia – for more details.

Airline officials would provide more information to passengers, who are scheduled to depart from the airport on Friday, at the departure gate on the second floor, the web page said.

An eyewitness said he heard an explosion that sounded like a transformer exploding on the third floor and saw airport and firefighters fighting a blaze in the electrical room. The fire was put out by 7am.

The airport building was sealed off after the fire, the witness added.

The Airports Department later confirmed that there was a fire at the circuit control cabinet in the control room at 5am.

In its press statement, the department said the fire was apparently caused by a short circuit, requiring the airport to put out a “NOTAM” signal, meaning no landings or take-offs can take place for half of the day.

The department said the flights that were scheduled to land at the airport were rerouted to Udon Thani International Airport.

The department said the four airlines operating at the Khon Kaen airport have transported passengers by bus to the Udon Thani airport to be flown out from there.

Passengers can call the four airlines at:

Thai Smiles: 1181 or 02=118-8888

Thai AirAsia: 02-515-9999

NokAir: 1318

Lion Air: 02-529-9999

 The Nation

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