This is the shocking moment an axe-wielding madman with a gun rode through an airport runway area before attacking staff.

Crazed local Watchara Khambut, 34, slipped through a car park used by staff at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday lunchtime.

Footage shows how he ditched his motorcycle and then ran towards parked jets that passengers had just disembarked from moments earlier.

He allegedly tried to commandeer an Airbus A320 operated by Bangkok Airways parked on the tarmac just yards from aircraft taking off and landing. However, quick-thinking ground staff slammed shut the doors as Watchara waved the axe and the handgun.

Shockingly, the suspect then smashed a glass door used for boarding and sprinted into the airport departure terminal before being bundled to the ground and beaten up by security guards with metal poles and traffic cones.

Police have now detained warehouse worker Khambut. He is accused of breaking the country's aviation laws - which carries a maximum penalty of the death sentence or life in prison.

Airport boss Kittipong Kittikachorn said: 'The attacker was tracked through CCTV throughout the incident and security officers driving patrol cars were ordered to intercept the intruders. Because the intruders were armed, the officers had to use force to control them.

'The perpetrators were arrested at 12.03 and detained by the police before they tried to escape into the concourse.'

Police said that the suspect had failed a drug test. They said he had been under the influence of methamphetamine - a popular drug in Southeast Asia because of its low cost.

They seized a homemade axe, an airgun and methamphetamine tablets from the suspect. Security guards that were injured in the scuffle with the suspect were given first aid.

Officers are now questioning the suspect on suspicion of breaking the country's Air Navigation Act. Accusations include trespassing into restricted areas within the airport and using a weapon or any other material in an act that may endanger or is likely to endanger the safety of an airport - which carries the death penalty.

The suspect could also be charged with destroying the airport's property as well as consuming and illegally possessing narcotics.

Police Lieutenant Phaisan Weerakitpanich, who is leading the investigation, said: 'During the initial interrogation, the accused was still in a state of intoxication so we will interview him again when he is sober. We know that he is a warehouse worker who finished his morning shift then rode to the airport on his motorcycle.'

Government Minister of Transport Saksayam Chidchob defended the airport's safety record - despite a similar incident in January 2021 when a car breached security and drove onto the runway.

The minister said: 'Suvarnabhumi Airport has strict security measures and the suspect was detained quickly. I have ordered the airport authorities to proceed according to the law.'