Golf course built between runways on Thai airport
- 6 years ago
This golf course has some unusual hazards - it's built between two runaways at one of the world's busiest airports.
The 18 holes are laid out inside the Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok with flights every few minutes. Players tee off just 20 yards from roaring passenger jets - negotiating the unusual hazard of sliced shots flying onto the runway.
Footage shot on May 19 shows just how near AirAsia, NokAir and other well-known carriers come to the fairways.
A British holidaymaker said it was ''utterly surreal'' and expressed concerns about players being able to venture onto the runway. The keen golfer said: ''You're teeing off and there's literally an aeroplane going up 20 yards away.
''One bad shot and the ball could slice right into its path. It's probably the only course in the world where you could be arrested for being a bad golfer.''
Don Muang Airport, which also has a Royal Thai Air Force base, has had commercial flights since 1924 and last year carried 40 million passengers on short-haul domestic flights and to destinations in Asia.
However, aviation authorities slammed airport in June 2015 with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) giving it a ''red flag'', which prompted sweeping safety changes. Despite players ID not being checked, every visitor now has to pass through an explosives detector and have their bags scanned.
The course also has CCTV and players have to be accompanied at all times by caddies.
The 18 holes are laid out inside the Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok with flights every few minutes. Players tee off just 20 yards from roaring passenger jets - negotiating the unusual hazard of sliced shots flying onto the runway.
Footage shot on May 19 shows just how near AirAsia, NokAir and other well-known carriers come to the fairways.
A British holidaymaker said it was ''utterly surreal'' and expressed concerns about players being able to venture onto the runway. The keen golfer said: ''You're teeing off and there's literally an aeroplane going up 20 yards away.
''One bad shot and the ball could slice right into its path. It's probably the only course in the world where you could be arrested for being a bad golfer.''
Don Muang Airport, which also has a Royal Thai Air Force base, has had commercial flights since 1924 and last year carried 40 million passengers on short-haul domestic flights and to destinations in Asia.
However, aviation authorities slammed airport in June 2015 with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) giving it a ''red flag'', which prompted sweeping safety changes. Despite players ID not being checked, every visitor now has to pass through an explosives detector and have their bags scanned.
The course also has CCTV and players have to be accompanied at all times by caddies.