Suvarnabhumi Airport Shuts Down

[S V Choong 4]

My flight is on the 2nd December TG416 KLIA to Bangkok, under promotion fare, if the airport still close can i claim for refund?

Should be able to as it is not your fault. Unless they can make alternate arrangement for you...

 

My wife and I are booked on Singapore airlines flight and my mum on Cathay Pacific flights. At the moment SQ is accepting pax who have booked onward journey to BKK until 7 December to change, cancel or postponed their flights until 7 February 2009. There will be no cancellation charges or change of itinerary fees involved. CX is offering pax who travel up to 3 December. So you should check with TG as soon as possible!

 

If the situation had not improved, I will be rerouting to Narita and hopefully I get to fly the A380-800s both ways. Just hoping that we have time for visa application to Japan thats all!

 

 

 

[BC Tam 2]

In retrospect, it's frightening how fast the situation has escalated : (

 

On Tuesday afternoon (circa 3pm) we made our way from hotel to Suvarnabhumi and were only held up slightly at the two checkpoints along the highway (well, four lanes converging into one)

It was I suppose business as normal at BKK then, usual run of the mill check-in, immigration control, duty free browsing, boarding queues etc

 

It was only in the comfort of our KL hotel room later on in the evening, viewing scenes of the pandemonium at departure area at BKK, that we realized how merciful the good Lord had been upon us !

 

I distinctly remember at the second checkpoint encountered, there was this single lady 'making herself heard' from her parked merc in the middle of the airport highway, whilst riot-geared police were assemblying in front of her car, more arriving by the truckloads and barbed wires having been laid across the road. At that point in time, it was easy to think that the authorities were over-reacting somewhat, and yours truly was no different !

[Pieter C. 5]

The Royal Netherlands Embassy has arranged for a KLM 747 charter-flight from HKT, to "evacuate" around 400 Dutch people...around 780 have registered with the Embassy to be 'stuck', so there might be another one this coming week...will keep you posted...

 

KL8091-30nov will operate AMS-KUL-HKT, on behalf of KL8102/01dec HKT-AMS: PH-BFN (anyone got a picture of this plane at KLIA ?)

[Keith T 2]

http://www.theage.com.au/travel/37-airline...81201-6ojf.html

 

37 airliners allowed to leave Bangkok

December 1, 2008 - 4:49PM

Anti-government protesters have allowed 37 empty airliners to leave Bangkok's besieged main airport after agreeing to a request by Thai authorities, officials said Monday.

 

A total of 88 aircraft have been stranded at Suvarnabhumi international airport since demonstrators stormed the terminal and forced it to close last Tuesday.

 

"Thirty-seven aircraft have left Suvarnabhumi since the first aircraft of Siam GA (a regional airline) took off on Sunday evening," an Airports of Thailand spokeswoman said.

 

"International airlines will have to contact us to take those stranded aircraft out of Suvarnabhumi."

 

Of the planes stuck at Suvarnabhumi, 29 belong to flag carrier Thai Airways, 16 to Thai Airasia, 15 to private-run Bangkok Airways and 22 aircraft are from other airlines, the spokeswoman said.

 

Twelve belong to the airlines of foreign countries.

 

The People's Alliance for Democracy protest movement has refused to leave the airport, and the smaller Don Mueang domestic hub in Bangkok which it has occupied since Thursday, until the government resigns.

 

Police say they are in talks with the demonstrators but have also issued them with orders to leave under a state of emergency declared at the airports last week by Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-new...81201-6o2e.html

 

Emergency flight laid on for stranded Bangkok tourists

Arjun Ramachandran

December 1, 2008

 

An emergency Qantas flight will fly home hundreds of Australians from Phuket tonight, after the Government and airline had arranged bus transport for passengers from Bangkok.

 

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith expressed frustration with Thailand's failure to evacuate stranded Australians after protesters seized control of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport last Tuesday and the smaller Don Muang domestic airport last Wednesday.

 

 

Australian authorities have been negotiating with Thai counterparts to put on more flights from Utapao, about 150 kilometres from Bangkok, and the tourist resort of Phuket, about 900 kilometres away.

 

 

One of those on tonight's Qantas flight from Phuket is 17-year-old Kristie O'Rourke, who was returning from a holiday in Vietnam with her mother when she was stranded in Bangkok for 13 hours.

 

 

She has since missed her high school formal and an important audition that she had scheduled for a dance school.

 

 

Ms O'Rourke and had been unable to get the same return flights from Hanoi as her mother, and was boarding a flight home at Bangkok last Tuesday just as protesters stormed the airport.

 

 

The airline, Thai Airways, decided not to take off, leaving Ms O'Rourke stranded at the airport, her mother Judy said: "She was there for 13 hours, with no food or water, the ATMs were shut down,'' she said.

 

 

Thai Airways eventually relocated passengers to hotels in the city, where Ms O'Rourke has since been staying at the airline's expense, her mother said.

 

 

"As far as I know, Thai Airways have paid for everything, all meals - we haven't paid for anything.

 

 

"She was in a nice place, although she was on her own, and got herself a mobile [to keep in touch with family].''

 

Difficult

 

 

Judy said the Australian embassy in Bangkok had been helpful, however she had found it difficult to arrange another flight home through the airline.

 

 

"Thai Airways are barely coping, they don't seem to have any system in place - you can't even call the reservation line, it says it can't be answered at this time.''

 

 

"Here's a kid on her own, she's missed her school formal ... she's trying to get her life together for next year.''

 

 

She understood that Ms O'Rourke had been selected for tonight's chartered flight on the basis of "oldest and youngest'' first.

 

 

A Qantas spokeswoman said seats were offered first to Qantas and British Airways customers, and then to Australians "as they get in contact''.

 

 

A number of travellers were also looking to change or defer travel plans that involved trips to Bangkok in the future, said Flight Centre general manager sales and

marketing Colin Bowman.

 

 

Travel agents said they were treating these requests according to the policies of individual airlines or accommodation suppliers.

 

 

No penalty

 

 

A Qantas spokeswoman said passengers could defer flights to or bypass Thailand without incurring a penalty.

 

 

Thai Airways will also waive cancellation and amendment fees for passengers who were departing for Bangkok until Friday.

 

 

Singapore Airlines will waive fees for travelling up to and including Sunday.

 

 

The airline was also operating a twice-daily service from the military airport at Utapao to Singapore until Wednesday for its passengers stranded at Bangkok.

 

 

Customers would be booked on those flights according to the order they were booked to travel from Bangkok, the airline said.

 

 

An Australian woman, who was stranded after anti-Government protesters blockaded Bangkok's international airport, has described mayhem and rioting at the military airport from which foreigners are being flown home.

 

 

The NSW woman, who did not wish to be named, said she feared being crushed as thousands of foreign travellers - some becoming aggressive and intoxicated - crammed into the Utapao military airport. Many were forced to wait up to 11 hours with no water.

 

 

Long delays

 

 

There were long delays at Utapao airport and Australia's ambassador had visited the airport to "press Thai authorities to address issues affecting operations", a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said.

 

 

The Australian woman, in Bangkok for work, said Qantas arranged to take her by bus to the military airport for a specially chartered flight home.

 

 

She had waited up to eight hours before being able to board her flight home, she said.

 

 

"But it wasn't really the wait. It just wasn't functioning, it was stretched to capacity," she said.

 

 

About 3000 people were crammed into the airport, which she was told could handle only 10 flights a day, and had just one set of steps from the departure lounge to the boarding gate.

 

 

As the crowd kept building, and the wait prolonged for already frustrated passengers, she feared being crushed.

 

 

Dangerous

 

 

"It was a very dangerous situation - it was packed, we were trapped in this departure lounge with nowhere to go," she said.

 

 

"They kept letting people in, at any time it could have turned. I was shielding behind an X-ray machine.

 

 

"They'd taken water off people as a security measure, so everyone was without water. Some people had been there for 11 hours without water.

 

 

"[Airport authorities] would then bring in some water and people would just riot for the water ... these badly behaved foreign tourists."

 

 

Many in the crowd were men, "half of whom had been drinking ... you could get alcohol duty free but couldn't get water".

 

 

"And then they brought in these heavily armed military guys because there were this group of passengers who really started bellowing ... they were waiting the longest and had started to get angry.

 

 

"I think it's fair to say passengers were traumatised - people have never seen, never experienced anything like that in their lives."

 

 

The passenger has now returned safely to her home on the South Coast.

 

 

Other Australians who managed to get on planes out of the military base have complained that the flights were returning to Australia only half full.

 

 

Mr Smith said the main problem had been "logistical difficulties" in people being able to get access to the airports.

 

 

"We have been becoming very frustrated with the Thai authorities, particularly Thai airline authorities and tourism authorities," he said.

 

 

"We are working with Qantas to get as many stranded Australians back to Australia as soon we can.

 

 

"But the two main airports in Bangkok are still closed, so we are looking to use a military airport 150 kilometres away and one in Phuket."

 

 

Mr Smith said that once extra flights were organised to take Australians home, officials would organise buses to take the stranded tourists on the long journey to either Phuket or Utapao.

 

 

In the meantime, he hoped the political turmoil gripping Bangkok would be resolved peacefully.

 

 

"We are urging a peaceful and political resolution to it and the last thing we want to see is a military resolution," he said.

 

 

- with AAP

Edited December 1, 2008 by Keith T

[Y. J. Foo 0]

KL8091-30nov will operate AMS-KUL-HKT, on behalf of KL8102/01dec HKT-AMS: PH-BFN (anyone got a picture of this plane at KLIA ?)

 

Not that I'm complaining, but can't KLM do AMS-HKT vv nonstop? :huh:

[Pieter C. 5]

Not that I'm complaining, but can't KLM do AMS-HKT vv nonstop? :huh:

 

Nope, for crew-reasons, had to operate via KUL

 

For those, contemplating a trip to BKK shortly:

 

Restarting Bangkok Airport To Take At Least A Week

 

December 1, 2008

Restarting Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport will take at least a week from the end of the current sit-in by protesters because of security and IT system checks, its general manager said on Monday.

 

Anti-government protesters have ignored a police order to end their blockade of Bangkok's main airport, which on Monday entered its seventh day.

 

"Normally, checking the IT systems takes one week. We have to check, recheck, check, recheck," Serirat Prasutanond said, adding that the delay would probably be even longer as some of complex's computers might need repair.

 

"I think some systems are damaged," he said, but declined to give further details.

 

The closure of the 125,000 passenger-a-day airport by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) movement has stranded thousands of foreigners and is threatening Thailand's tourism- and export-driven economy with billions of dollars of damage.

 

With the army refusing to get involved and police reluctant to use force against the 3,000 protesters, many of whom are women and who include children and babies, attention is on a court decision this week that is likely to dissolve the ruling party.

 

Even if the dissolution, expected on Tuesday or Wednesday, is enough to convince the PAD to pack its bags, Serirat's timeline suggests the airport will be closed until at least December 11, eating into the key Christmas tourist season.

 

It is also likely to be a factor in Thailand's decision whether or not to postpone an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit scheduled for December 13-17, even though the venue has already been shifted to the northern city of Chiang Mai.

 

"We're coming up to the busy season for the tourism, but even if the airport is up and running any time soon, it's hard to imagine that you're going to see significant inflows of tourists," Nick Bibby of Barclays Capital in Singapore said.

 

Once Airports of Thailand has done all its checks, the Department of Civil Aviation and the airlines themselves have to do their own system verification before normal operations can resume, Serirat said.

 

It is not known how long those third-party checks will take.

 

The tourist misery is being compounded by the PAD's parallel occupation of Bangkok's Don Muang airport, which served as the capital's main air hub until Suvarnabhumi's opening in September 2006, and is still important as a domestic hub.

 

Serirat did not say how long it would take to reopen Don Muang.

 

Some international flights are now departing via U-Tapao, a Vietnam War-era military airfield 150 km (90 miles) southeast of Bangkok.

 

With just one baggage scanner and a flight schedule hand-written on a white chalk board, it is a poor substitute for Suvarnabhumi, and its tiny check-in hall, built for 14 flights a day, is bursting at the seams.

 

The other options for travellers trying to get out of the country are via Chiang Mai, about 700 km (430 miles) to the north of Bangkok, or Phuket, 900 km (560 miles) to the south, or driving overland to Cambodia to get flights out of Siem Reap or Phnom Penh.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Ryan Soh 3]

Not that I'm complaining, but can't KLM do AMS-HKT vv nonstop? :huh:

Techically speaking, the KLM 744 can do AMS-HKT nonstop.

 

However, do not forget the HKT is not a KLM station so they would need to have the aircraft serviced at their next nearest port-of-call, in this case it would be KUL. So I assumed the catering, cleaning, water and what have you to load a plane with before a flight will be done in KLIA before the plane departs for HKT. KLM has already stated that getting stranded AF/KL pax out of Thailand is thier first priority so that means this aircraft will fly into HKT empty.

 

While the airlines around the region like MH, SQ, CX etc have the option of forgoing ground services in Thailand as they can get it back at thier own airport, thus they can fly into U-Tapao, turn around and depart with minimum ground support. Long haul carriers like KLM cannot do that as the aircraft would have to be refueled, catering stocked up, toilet waste pumped out, etc... U-Tapao is presently struggling to cope with even the basic of need for these stranded travellers as this airfield is simply not equipped to handle such a large influx of movement in the first place. Imagine trying to fit KUL-sized movements into JHB!

 

Sigh... I really hate to be stuck in this situation.

[Ashmil Abd Ghani 0]

Since Bangkok major airports and some flight diverted to other airports and this airport U-tapao airport is new to me and I try to discover how the airport look like..Here some pictures from U-tapao official websites..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.utapao.com/photogallery_en.html

 

I just wonder how the airport look like at this moment..If you have some pictures, I would like to see..Thanks

[Yusoff 1]

OT: What is the correct pronunciation of 'Suvarnabhumi'?

TV3 newscasters pronounced it "Soo-var-na-BHOOM" but the spelling makes it sound "Soo-var-na-BOO-MEE". Thailand-native or Thai-speaking ppl may help...

[Keith T 2]

OT: What is the correct pronunciation of 'Suvarnabhumi'?

TV3 newscasters pronounced it "Soo-var-na-BHOOM" but the spelling makes it sound "Soo-var-na-BOO-MEE". Thailand-native or Thai-speaking ppl may help...

 

It's pronounced without the 'i.'

[Phil M. 0]

I imagine it to look like a big huge parking lot!!With lots of aircrafts."berlin airlift"full swing

[Ryan Soh 3]

OT: What is the correct pronunciation of 'Suvarnabhumi'?

TV3 newscasters pronounced it "Soo-var-na-BHOOM" but the spelling makes it sound "Soo-var-na-BOO-MEE". Thailand-native or Thai-speaking ppl may help...

 

 

It's pronounced without the 'i.'

Thai is a strange language. The fact that it wasn't even Romanised to begin with, I really wonder why do they have such confusing spellings in English for their Thai words? I speak Thai so let me clear the air....

 

Suvarnabhumi is pronounced as soo-wa-na-boom

Don Muang is pronouced as don-moo-uh-ng

The King Bumiphol is pronounced as boo-mee-pohn

Thaksin family name Shinawatra is pronounced as shee-nah-wat

Sawasdee is pronounced as sah-wah-dee

Sukhumvit is pronounced as soo-koom-wit

[N Azman 0]

MWingers,

 

I was one of the unfortunate souls to be stranded at BKK over the events of the past week. Due to some friends and a lot of support from MH, (which i was not even holding a ticket for) I managed to scoot home after a horrendous journey down south to Phuket and catching a flight from there.

 

I just wanna add a note here to share with you guys, the experience I had with MH and AK while we were in BKK.

 

I originally held a ticket for KUL-BKK-KUL on airasia. We were concluding our business meetings in BKK when the airport was sieged and the closure was announced. As expected, all flights are cancelled. The first disappointment came when I received an SMS from AK, saying the flight has been cancelled and to call a few numbers which turns out to be massively flooded. A double check at the website concluded that our flight has been cancelled, and tickets are now being refunded for the passengers. My calls made to the numbers on the SMS is futile.

 

In stark contrast, some sort of a crisis center was set up by MH and other legacy carriers to keep their passengers in the loop of events, possible flights from U Tapao and possibilities of taking flights out of HKT. Chats with fellow businessmen who held tickets with legacy carriers MH, lufthansa, etc all concluded that their airline has been in contact with them over the possibilities of UTP and HKT flights.

 

But yet, theres nothing from AK. we felt as if we're left there for dead, although that may be an exaggeration of some sort, but in light of uncertainties and growing violence in the airports and city, i dont think we can be blamed for feeling a bit anxious.

 

On the 3rd day of the siege, we decided the hell with it and travel down south via bus to HKT, to increase our chances of picking up a flight. On the 3rd day, comes another SMS from AK, saying a flight is planned to UTP to 'rescue' its passengers. A flight or two. Would that help? by now, there would be close to 1000 AK passengers stranded already, of all nationalities, and we're all gonna fight for this A320 flight from UTP? Plus, we were already on the way down south to HKT by then so we thought we'd check in with the AK counter at HKT, to get help.

 

Yet, NOTHING again. even by decree of being a customer who had a cancelled ticket, we were not given any help by AK people there. We were just waved off and they claim the next 4 days of flights are already full.

 

Tired, agitated and irritated after a 16-hour bus ride to HKT, we found help with Mdm Jongrak Tandaves, who is the MH station manager at HKT. We scored seats on the MH A330 flight down to KUL to put an end to our misery and to a much needed shower. I don't know how she did it, but she helped out and we were very grateful to her. Talk about putting a personal touch to customers huh. Some more we were originally AK ticket holders.

 

Arriving home the next day, the newspapers are all printing stories of 'rescue' flights by both MH and AK at UTP, with AK flying 2 flights a day. With pictures of AK people greeting the 'rescued' passengers. I can't help but feel its a massive PR stunt by AK, knowing that the first thing they did was to cancel our flights, refund our money and took them 3 full days of leaving us in the dark, before only 'lightly' notifying us that there are plans for flights to UTP, and we are to contact the numbers (which i tried, but numbers are flooded) to get a ticket.

 

I know LCCs and how they work. Maybe it is asking too much to ask for the same level of support given by other legacy carriers to their customers. But as airasia's loyal customer and share holder, I am extremely disappointed with their actions whilst stuck in BKK. We were stuck there with minimal access to internet and we were largely dependant on the airlines' help for getting us out.

 

They could have:

 

1) routed extra flights to HKT or Chiang Mai or ANY airports and chartered buses for their passengers there. using equipment that is meant to fly to BKK.

2) kept their customers in the loop of any happenings in BKK and how AK plans to help.

3) kept existing stuck customers in 'priority' for any flights departing HKT or any other thai airports.

 

AK, I dont expect the world. Especially when I paid low fares. But for God's sake please be more attentive to what your customers are feeling. I dont expect a first class treatment since you guys are lost cost anyway, but in light of the situation, I think you guys couldve handled it better.

 

MH, thank you for your hospitality and for taking us home. You've gained an additional customer.

 

 

[Y. J. Foo 0]

Thai PM has been banned from his office by a court ruling. The ruling party has also been disbanded.

 

Thailand's prime minister is banned from office by court

A court in Thailand has dissolved the ruling party and banned the prime minister Somchai Wongsawat from office for five years.

 

By Thomas Bell in Bangkok

Last Updated: 7:51AM GMT 02 Dec 2008

 

"As the court decided to dissolve the People Power Party, therefore the leader of the party and party executives must be banned from politics for five years," said Chat Chonlaworn, head of the nine-judge court panel.

 

"The court had no other option," he said. Under the Thai constution, written by a military government last year, any political party in which a single executive member is convicted of election fraud must be entirely dissolved and all party executives banned from politics.

 

The verdict was widely anticipated and it may not lead immediately to the fall of the government or to the end of the crippling blockade of Bangkok’s airports.

 

Government MPs are expected to reform in a new party. Meanwhile anti-government protesters, who have stranded thousands of travellers for over a week, are determined to maintain their blockade until they are satisfied of total victory.

 

Hours before the court verdict a rocket propelled grenade attack on Bangkok’s international airport killed one protester and wounded 22 others.

 

The situation in Thailand remains febrile, with widespread fears of much worse violence to come and speculation rife of extra- constitutional power grabs or “disguised coups”.

 

The attack on the yellow-shirted anti-government protesters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) was launched from a motorway flyover near the airport. Grenade attacks on the group have become an almost daily occurrence but it remains unclear who is behind them.

 

The total death toll in Thailand’s political crisis on both sides of the conflict currently stands at seven with hundreds wounded.

 

Before the court’s verdict, supporters of the government warned that dissolving the ruling People Power party and two of its coalition allies would amount to a “judicial coup” or “a coup by the gowns instead of the tanks”.

 

Government supporters from the red-shirted Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) picketed the court from early in the morning, forcing the hearing to be transferred to a different building.

 

Most government MPs are now expected to move to a new “shell” party called Puea Thai (For Thais) which was prepared in anticipation of the verdict. They may then choose a new prime minister. Other coalition partners appear solid in their support.

 

The coalition controls around two thirds of the seats in parliament following elections less than a year ago.

 

Many believe the courts are prejudiced against the government. Earlier this year the same court dismissed a prime minister from office for hosting a television cookery show. But the courts have been lenient towards the opposition, including towards the PAD which illegally occupied Government House for three months and is now occupying both of Bangkok’s airports.

 

The government objects that the court fast-tracked this case and did not allow testimony from witnesses. The PAD is believed to have the support of some of the most powerful figures in Thai society.

 

Analysts see the crisis as a conflict between the electorally successful government under the patronage of the exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and the conservative traditional elite in the bureaucracy, army and palace who are determined to thwart him.

 

The situation in Thailand is now more uncertain than ever. A new prime minister can only be appointed if parliament meets – something which the PAD is expected to attempt to prevent through violent protests.

 

One scenario under discussion is that anti-government forces may now press for a caretaker administration drawn from the judiciary or elsewhere, excluding parliament.

 

There are mounting fears that the government’s red shirted supporters, who are much more numerous than the PAD and have so far watched the unfolding situation with growing anger but restraint, could mount a fierce backlash if they feel the government's electoral mandate has been denied.

 

Meanwhile there is no end in sight for the misery of over 100 000 foreign tourists trapped in the country. A few planes continue to leave provincial airports but capacity is woefully inadequate.

 

Officials say it will take a week to reopen Bangkok airport even after the protesters leave.

 

Three tourists – two Canadians and a man from Hong Kong – have now died in road accidents while travelling from Bangkok to alternative airports. Three Canadians and a Briton were injured in a road accident overnight.

 

Telegraph.co.uk

 

Can we now get the airports back ASAP...??

Edited December 2, 2008 by Y. J. Foo

[Yusoff 1]

Ryan and Keith, thanks a lot.. misleading indeed. They should spell it (in Roman) the way it is sounded la... shezzz...

[KK Lee 5]

Top Thai court bans ruling party

 

Thailand's constitutional court has dissolved the governing People Power Party and two of its coalition partners for fraud during the last election.

 

The parties' leaders, including Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, have been banned from politics for five years.

 

It is unclear if the ruling ends a months-long political crisis, since other coalition MPs have vowed to form another government under a new name.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7759960.stm

 

 

Window of opportunity for PAD to leave airports.

 

 

 

 

[S V Choong 4]

Protesters lift Bangkok airport blockade

December 3, 2008 - 8:37PM

Anti-government demonstrators have agreed to allow flights to resume from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi international airport after a week-long blockade, a protest leader said.

 

"As of this moment the PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) has allowed flights to take off and land immediately, both passenger and cargo flights," senior alliance member Somkiat Pongpaiboon told reporters.

 

The PAD occupied Suvarnabhumi and the smaller Don Mueang domestic airport last week, stranding 350,000 passengers and causing massive damage to the Thai economy.

 

Thailand's airport authority confirmed there was an agreement with protesters, saying flights may be able to resume if there are no "technical problems".

 

"We have reached an agreement with PAD to start clearing protesters from the passenger zone to reopen Suvarnabhumi Airport," said Vudhihaandhu Vichairatama, chairman of the board of Airports of Thailand.

 

"But how soon depends on technical issues. If there is no technical problem the first flights would resume within 24 hours," Vudhihaandhu said.

 

AFP

 

http://www.theage.com.au/world/protesters-...81202-6pq1.html

[Pieter C. 5]

Cargo Flights To Resume From Bangkok

 

December 2, 2008

Cargo flights can start leaving Bangkok's besieged Suvarnabhumi Airport again as soon as shippers and airlines are ready, the airport authority said, and a cargo sector official said some were due to leave later on Tuesday.

 

"I have authorized pure cargo flights to resume from 0900 hours (0200 GMT) this morning and it's up to them to start when they are ready," Serirat Prasutanond, managing director of Airports of Thailand said.

 

He said passenger flights would not restart until anti-government protesters had ended their sit-in, which has halted all passenger and cargo flights for the past week. "Passengers' safety comes first," he said.

 

The cargo flights were scheduled after a meeting between the Transport Ministry and private businesses on Monday, said Kasem Jariyawong, president of the Thai Airfreight Forwarders Association, adding he did not expect the protesters to block these flights.

 

Kasem said container trucks could enter the airport through an entrance not blocked by the protesters.

 

The cargo flights will mostly involve Asian carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Malaysia Airlines.

 

"The cargo planes are ready but shippers need time to repack their cargoes, which have earlier been moved out of the airport after they were delayed by the protest. It takes time to truck them back there," he said.

 

"An agreement was reached for cargo flights to resume from 0900 hours local Tuesday (0200 GMT) to 1800 hours (1100 GMT) Wednesday. If things go well, we will try to extend them at least for a week," he said.

 

However, Serirat said the situation would be reviewed every 15 days, and that the authority would keep extending permission for cargo flights as long as there was no disruption from protesters.

 

Kasem expected the first cargo plane out to be a Singapore Airlines flight, which he said was already loading.

 

A prolonged closure of the USD$4 billion Suvarnabhumi Airport, a major Asian hub that can handle 3 million tonnes of cargo a year, would do huge damage to the export-driven Thai economy, which is already struggling to cope with a global slowdown.

 

The protesters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) see the airport disruption as a way of toppling the government, which they say is a front for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was removed by the military in September 2006.

 

Current Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and other cabinet ministers will have to step down as a result of a court verdict on Tuesday, which found three ruling parties guilty of electoral fraud and said they must disband, but Thaksin allies are likely to form the next government.

 

However, Kasem was optimistic cargo would not be blocked.

 

"This is a window left open and there is no reason for protesters to block it. The PAD has said it is not against private business," he said.

 

Kasem said earlier that around 1,500 tonnes of cargo worth some THB3 billion baht (USD$85 million) left the airport each day. Some 600-700 tonnes was perishable goods such as food and flowers. The rest was mostly electronics and computer parts.

 

Another 1,000 tonnes of inbound cargo and 600 tonnes of transit cargo also go through Suvarnabhumi each day. After the airport was shut, some cargo firms moved their goods out of Suvarnabhumi by truck and through the south to Malaysia, where they were airlifted from Kuala Lumpur. Some were also sent by sea to Singapore, and then flown out from there.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Mulyadir Fitri 0]

Thai protesters abandon airport blockade

 

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Anti-government protesters who have been blockading Bangkok's main airport for over a week abandoned their checkpoints on Wednesday and started packing up their belongings to head for home.

 

A Reuters reporter said 2,000 yellow-shirted protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) were in and around the departure area of the $4 billion terminal, piling up trucks.

 

PAD clean-up teams scurried around the area, sweeping up the mess. Around a dozen airport security police could be seen.

 

Copyright © 2008 Reuters

[Ashmil Abd Ghani 0]

Thai protesters abandon airport blockade

 

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Anti-government protesters who have been blockading Bangkok's main airport for over a week abandoned their checkpoints on Wednesday and started packing up their belongings to head for home.

 

A Reuters reporter said 2,000 yellow-shirted protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) were in and around the departure area of the $4 billion terminal, piling up trucks.

 

PAD clean-up teams scurried around the area, sweeping up the mess. Around a dozen airport security police could be seen.

 

Copyright © 2008 Reuters

 

Good to know that and at least 7 days from now we can see BKK airport back in operation after massive check and cleaning the airport done..

[Pieter C. 5]

Operator Can't Say When Bangkok Airports Will Open

 

December 2, 2008

Thailand's airports operator will decide on Wednesday how soon flights can resume from Bangkok's main airports after protesters agreed to end a week-long blockade, an official said on Tuesday.

 

"By tomorrow afternoon, I should be able to issue a statement on when we return to normal," Serirat Prasutanond, acting head of Airports of Thailand said.

 

In a statement issued before the protesters announced the end of their siege, Serirat said the airports would stay closed until December 15.

 

(Reuters)

 

[LeeTZ 1]

good to heard that the protesters start to clear from the airport, hope everything will resume normal ops soon

[Pieter C. 5]

Thai Protesters Lift Airport Siege, First Flight Lands

 

December 3, 2008

Thailand's main international airport, Suvarnabhumi, should be back to normal in two days, its general manager said on Wednesday as anti-government protesters packed up and left at the end of an eight day blockade.

 

Serirat Prasutanond said a Thai Airways domestic flight landed at 3.15 pm local time (0715 GMT), the first plane to arrive since the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters overran the airport on November 25.

 

"I have strong confidence that everything will be OK and will back to normal in two days," Serirat said as trucks ferried the yellow-shirted PAD demonstrators from the terminal.

 

He said the first international flight would land around midnight on Thursday.

 

The PAD, led by a group of royalist businessman, academics and activists, formally marked the end of their occupation by singing the king's anthem before they left.

 

The protesters decided to lift their siege after the courts dismissed the government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, whom the PAD accuse of being a puppet of his brother-in-law, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

 

No one expects Somchai's departure to provide more than short-term respite to the wider political crisis that has been dragging on for three years.

 

Thaksin allies still dominate parliament and are expected to elect a new prime minister from among their number on December 8 -- the third prime minister in as many months.

 

Cargo flights started to leave Suvarnabhumi on Tuesday but the occupation has dealt an enormous blow to tourism and the export sector, already reeling from the global economic crisis.

 

Weerasak Kowsurat, the outgoing minister for tourism in Somchai's government, estimated around 230,000 foreign tourists remained stranded on Wednesday, but a steady flow of planes was leaving from other airports outside the capital.

 

"If the PAD gives back both airports, this should help speed up the process to get people home even faster," he said. "These tourists left stranded should not have to wait for the official reopening of the airport, which is probably going to take another week. At this point, I think, what's important is to get them home as soon as possible," he added.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Tamizi Hj Tamby 1]

At last,BKK and DMK reopens. But the protestors did help clearing the mess they've done during their strike at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang.

[Pieter C. 5]

Finnair Says Thailand Costs To Top EUR4 Mln

 

December 4, 2008

Finnair said on Wednesday costs from delays and cancellations of its Thailand flights would top EUR4 million euros (USD$5.06 million).

 

"The expense of the exceptional arrangements as well as losses of revenue in passenger and cargo traffic have cost Finnair around EUR4 million at this stage. Consequential effects are expected to increase the final cost total," it said in a statement.

 

Anti-government protesters lifted their crippling, eight-day blockade of Thailand's two main airports on Wednesday, raising the hopes of 230,000 stranded tourists.

 

(Reuters)