Asian airlines arranging flights for tourists stranded in Bangkok

A number of Asian airlines are beginning to arrange special flights to help stranded passengers leave Bangkok, as occupation of Bangkok’s two main airports continues by anti-government protesters attempting to oust the elected government, according to a Reuters report.

Protesters with the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) occupied and shut down Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi international airport and the Don Muang domestic airport this past week. Suvarnabhumi is Thailand’s main air hub, handling 14 million passengers annually.

On Thursday, two days after the occupation began, the Thai Prime Minister, Somchai Wongsawat, declared a state of emergency, indicating that the country’s tourism and export industries could not survive a continuing disruption.

The sit-ins at the two airports have forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights and stranded more than a hundred thousand foreign tourists at one of the largest air hubs in Asia. Millions of dollars in air cargo has also been grounded.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific began operating two daily flights late in the week on a Boeing 777-300 to the naval air base near the popular tourist resort of Pattaya, around three hours by car from Bangkok.

On Saturday, the flight to Thailand carried passengers wishing to return to Thailand from Hong Kong, according to the airline.

Korean Air Lines and South Korean-based Asiana Airlines reported that they had commenced daily flights to the same airport to transport as many as 1,100 stranded passengers.

www.airportthai.co.th