Heavy rain causes Phuket-bound flight to divert to Krabi

PHUKET: Due to heavy rain and strong winds this morning, a Thai Airways flight was unable to land safely at Phuket International Airport and had to be diverted to Krabi.

The conditions also caused delays in the arrival of a number of domestic inbound flights, although no international arrivals were affected.

An officer at the airport control tower said several domestic flights had to circle the airport for ten to twenty minutes before landing safely.

Thai Airways flight TG205, scheduled to arrive in Phuket at 11:20 am, had to be diverted to Krabi. However it safely landed at its original destination at 13:35 pm.

Current rainy conditions are likely to persist over the next few days.

The Meteorological Department’s Southern Meteorological Center at Phuket Airport at 1pm today issued a flood warning for people in risk areas in Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi.

The possibility of flooding is likely to persist for two or three days, according to the statement.

The MET’s forecast for the 24-hour period starting at 5pm today calls for “fairly widespread” thundershowers covering 70% of the island and isolated heavy rain.

Winds will be Southwesterly at 15kmh to 30 kmh and wave heights about 1 meter.

— P. Choksakulpan & S. Fein