Tourism Indochina: All flights cancelled at Bangkok after gunshots from protestors

Tourism Indochina: All flights cancelled at Bangkok after gunshots from protestors

(Tourism Indochina:Date : 2008-11-26):

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) has been closed today with all departing flights cancelled, and arriving flights left to the discretion of airlines, as pro- and anti-government protestors clashed Tuesday evening.

Thai police have confirmed that when the two groups clashed, what began as a war of words quickly saw the start of a gunfire exchange at the main hub in Thailand, resulting in the injury of two individuals.

The anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is believed to have swarmed the airport on Tuesday evening in an attempt to prevent Somchai Wongsawat, the current Thai Prime Minister, from returning to the country following APEC in Peru.

“For the safety for passengers, we have to stop flights out of the airport temporarily until the situation returns to normal,” said Saereerat Prasutanont, Suvarnabhumi International Airport Director, on Tuesday night.

“I decided to shut down services after the protesters broke the door on the fourth floor of the terminal and stormed into the departure lounge. I had no alternative.”

With the protestors camped inside the airport, officials have had little choice but to cancel Wednesday’s services both in and out of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi causing transport chaos and another hit to Thailand’s struggling tourism industry.

Flights which can’t be cancelled will be diverted to Chiang Mai or Phuket, officials say.

While thousands of travellers have now been stranded, reports from the airport have revealed that the protestors have been deemed ‘helpful’ to tourists. Helping ferry those from the terminal in pick-up trucks after taxis were not allowed inside.

The airport raid is believed to be the culmination of two days of protests by the PAD against Somchai, who is the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s brother-in-law. Thaksin was ousted in 2006 by a bloodless military coup, but still sees much support from the country’s rural poor.

Earlier on Tuesday, some 10,000 protestors swarmed the old Bangkok Airport at Don Mueang, where Somchai is temporarily based after the prime minister’s office was swarmed in August.



No growth for tourism

Already the industry is warning that Thailand will not see any growth in travel and tourism due to the damage caused to the country’s image from the political protests.

“Don’t think that the Thai tourism business will grow next year,” said Apichart Sankary, Association of Thai Travel Agents President, to the Bangkok Post.

“It’s dying now because of the political problems. In the best case, we might just see flat growth.”

Flight UPDATE

Numerous flights in and out of BKK were affected including Thai Airways, Qantas, British Airways and Emirates to name a few, with disruptions including diversions and cancellations.

THAI Airways TG992 Sydney–Brisbane–Bangkok departed last night at its scheduled time of 22:15, while TG994 Sydney–Bangkok scheduled for an 08:55 departure this morning appears to have departed on time.

The national carrier expects disruptions to end at noon local time in Bangkok, with all affected passengers rebooked onto the next available flight.

“Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport will be closed until 12 noon local BKK time, Wednesday, 26 November... THAI passengers travelling to Thailand will be transferred to the next available flight when flight operations return to normal which is likely to be by Friday, 28 November 2008.

“THAI passengers connecting through BKK to other THAI destinations will be transferred to other carriers without penalty until BKK airport operations return to normal.

“THAI will waive all cancellations and amendment fees for passengers changing travel plans as a result of the airport closure and departing up until Monday, 1st December 2008. All airfares requested for refund action are to be submitted by 12 December, 2008,” it adds.

British Airways has diverted BA010 Sydney–Bangkok to Singapore, while this evening’s BA009 Heathrow to Sydney flight which stops to refuel in Bangkok has been cancelled.

In a statement BA said, “Due to the security situation at Bangkok airport, we have been forced to make alterations to our schedule... We will do all we can to reaccommodate customers. The safety of our customers, crew and aircraft is of paramount importance and will not be compromised.”

Emirates Flight EK419 Auckland–Sydney–Bangkok–Dubai Tuesday night was diverted to Kuala Lumpur before flying on to Dubai. Emirates add that no schedules have as yet been changed for today, but they will continue to “assess information as it comes to hand”.

Source eBT

Cambodia tours=> http://www.tourismindochina.com/cambodia/tours/
Vietnam tours=> http://www.tourismindochina.com/vietnam/tours/
Laos tours=> http://www.tourismindochina.com/laos/tours/
More about Cambodia Rice Exporter, please visit: http://www.cambodiaorganic.com/