Thailand's international airport is surrounded by its tightest security yet ahead of this month's APEC summit of 21 world leaders, but airlines and security experts warn there are major gaps in the armor.
Troops have already deployed across Bangkok's Don Muang airport, and Thai Airways International security chief Pricha Sukchai said tanks will roll onto the tarmac next week along with a security contingent of 1,300 personnel.
"We are at code red now. Every-thing is at 100 percent strength," he said as the Oct. 20 to Oct. 21 APEC meeting neared.
But despite several publicized security steps, and many more which authorities refuse to discuss in detail, the sprawling facility in suburban Bangkok is seen by industry experts as one of the least secure in the region.
Pricha said Thai Airways remains "concerned," particularly about a series of recent security scares, including reports that surface-to-air missiles smuggled into Thailand from Cambodia were being hunted by authorities.
"There are all kinds of security problems in that airport," said an executive at an international carrier who asked not to be identified.
He said the frontline security system at Don Muang is poor, with passengers allowed to to through immigration and into a cavernous duty-free hall without passing through a metal detector. Easy vehicular access right up to the front doors of passenger terminals is also a concern.
Other risks at the airport, one of Asia's busiest, include an antiquated baggage-security system that sends screened baggage back into the temporary possession of passengers before they check in.
Three security experts interviewed from Singapore last month named the airport as an area of concern in Asia.
Andrew Tan of Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies said Don Muang was the most obvious target for a surface-to-air missile strike because of its location so close to the city, next to a golf course and with flight paths going over highways and populated areas.
The dozens of international carriers flying in and out of Bangkok see the APEC meeting as an opportunity to highlight Don Muang's security status.
One major concern is an air force-owned golf course abutting the airport's runways. Terrorists armed with missiles could slip onto the fairways for a clear shot at an airliner, industry leaders have said.
With the August arrest in Thailand of suspected terror mastermind Hambali, and his reported confession that al-Qaeda planned to attack passenger planes and other targets in Bangkok, the scenario has raised alarms.
"We feel that the golf course is a huge security risk for this airport. We have been asking for a number of years that it be closed," said a spokesman for the Board of Airline Representatives, which counts 65 carriers as members in Bangkok.
"It is a shame the people of Thailand can not recognize the danger of having a golf course between the two runways of a major international airport," the spokesman said.
Thailand has debated closing the course for years, and has shut it down this month due to APEC, but Pricha said Thai Airways has been told the air force will reopen the course after the summit.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has bristled at the charges that Thailand is at heightened risk, but he and his administration have also admitted to security scares.
Thaksin last month confirmed that terrorists had plotted to launch an attack on an Israeli El Al airliner in Bangkok, while ministers in his Cabinet admitted authorities were on the hunt for smuggled missiles.
Although Thaksin later downplayed the missile concerns, saying such weapons smuggled into Thailand would be too old to be used accurately, the military was taking no chances.
On Thursday they began training thousands of taxi drivers and motorcyclists in how to spot shoulder-launched missiles and the terrorists who could use them.
In a further bid to soothe safety fears, top government and airport officials staged a walk-through at Don Muang on Friday to highlight security efforts.
"These will be the strictest security measures ever applied at our airport," its general manager Flight Lieutenant Yom Ngonrath said.
That means intensified random X-ray searches of checked baggage and inspections of catering services for biochemical threats, snipers on every rooftop and teams of undercover commandos.
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