Was the MD aircraft in question not equipped for a fully blind landing in zero visibility or does Phuket airport not have the necessary equipment installed?
The aircraft may not have had autoland and Phuket probably doesn't have the required standard of ILS either, however the the
Times was reporting this morning that the plane had landed east to west ie using 27 but in the diagram above it showed the plane landing on 09- if it was using 09 then it would have been on the VOR/DME approach which would have higher minima and could not be auto-coupled. At Gatwick autolands can be carried out in zero vis.