Bangkok airport to close one runway

BANGKOK, June 29 (AFP): The Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT) announced this afternoon that it will close down Bangkok international airport’s west runway for maintenance for four months. The repairs to the 3.8 kilometer (2.3 mile) runway are to cost 420 million baht (11.4 million US dollars) and are scheduled to be completed in February 2000, the AAT said. The closure will not affect any scheduled flights serving the airport. “In case one runway is closed, the airport can still handle 34 flights per hour,” an AAT official said.