Problems for Thailand's new airport

Thailand's new Suvarnabhumi airport, which opened in September, is suffering from runway cracks, according to reports.

Thailand's transport minister, Thira Haocharoen, has recommended that domestic flights from the airport be moved back to Bangkok's former Don Muang facility.

Authorities are set to carry out immediate repairs on the affected runway, with a reopening expected within two months.

Mr Thira was quoted by the BBC as saying: "The decision to move back to Don Muang was based on a series of problems that have plagued Suvarnabhumi, from cracks on the taxiways to out-of-order aerobridges."

The airport project was heralded by Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as one of the main priorities of his administration.

However, he was ousted in a military coup shortly before the opening of the airport after his critics claimed that he had become encumbered by corruption.

Martial law was only lifted in Bangkok and the majority of the country's other districts last Friday after being enacted on September 19th 2006.

A further 35 districts within Thailand will continue to be under martial law.