Protesters shut Thailand's international airport.
Has your flight been effected? If so, did the airport personel give any information about when you can fly? Would you advise others who are planning a trip to Thailand to choose a different destination or to stick with their plan?
Thursday 1800 hours Thai Time.
The ruling party has announced a state of emergency at both Bangkok airports. Significantly, they have ordered the police (not the army) to disperse the protesters. It remains to be seen whether there orders are carried out.
The cabinet met in Chiangmai as the safety of the Prime Minister could not be guaranteed had he tries to land in Bangkok after flying in from Peru. That the state of emergency has been declared from Chiangmai has the same political significance as the President of the USofA being refused entry to a beseiged Washington airport and making camp in Alaska, and from the frozen North wagging his finger pompously at the naughty boys in the nation's capital. The apparent retreat by the government to its stronghold in the North of the country has not been lost on ordinary folk. There are now reports of tanks moving into strategic positions around the capital. According to army sources there are part of "routine operations" and not part of an attempted coup. The acid test come tomorrow morning. If we turn the T V on and see a picture of the King accompanied by sombre music, then the army will have restored order by staging yet another coup
Reply to this Woke up this morning and TV stations broadcasting normally so no overnight coup! The news is that the Prime Minister has ordered the Bangkok police force (from the safety of Thaksin's home town of Chiangmai) to evict the protesters from the two airports. The police have responded vowing to negotiate with PAD and not use force to evict them.
At the very earliest, the international airport is not expected to re-open before Sunday evening, and even if it does it will be pretty chaotic for three or four days as thousands of outbound passengers have to be transported home. However, if the police stick to their word not to use force to evict the protesters, the airport could easily still be closed next week, as PAD are adamant they will not leave the airport until the Prime Minister resigns. The army has already refused to use force to break up the protest, and the police statement of non-violence is being seen in some quarters as a further indication of a coup by the military.
The situation is having a huge impact on the tourist industry in Thailand. Thousands have cancelled their holidays and hotels are expecting a gloomy 30% occupancy rate for the rest of the high season, with one of the consequences being massive lay-offs of workers in the hotel and tourist businesses. Sad times for Thailand - but for those who still travel here it means the price of accommodation is likely to remain at low season levels as hotels compete for your dollars!
One of the amazing things about all this, is that the Thai Baht remains strong against major currencies. This, despite international investors pulling out of the market and export businesses suffering terribly from the global recession and high exchange rate, is the result of continued intervention by the Bank of Thailand. But with less foreign currency coming into the country as a result of the economic slowdown, shoring up the Baht to make it appear to the rest of the world that all is well, is not sustainable. If you are coming here in January, my prediction is that you will enjoy a more favourable rate of exchange and lower prices in hotels/guesthouses.
Reply to this I deleted one post. Please avoid posting SPAM on these forums. Mel
Reply to this Latest news:
1. U-tapao (military) airport is to continue to be used as a gateway for sending foreign visitors home. As of yesterday afternoon, six flights had taken off. The flights will increase to 15 today and 48 tomorrow. Aircraft capacity is about 300 passengers per flight.
2.Tourists who overstay their visa as a result of flight delays/cancellations caused by the current situation are to be exempt from overstay fines. (Have to produce evidence of booked flight)
3.Protesters at Government House are being taken by bus to the airport by PAD. Obviously their leaders expect something to happen later today and want all the "troops" in the same place.
Reply to this Things are looking a bit grim here. As Thaiyaioo said, the government is using the police because it doesn't control the army (the last coup was a direct result of Thaksin trying to gain control of the army) but has a decent power base in the police force (where Thaksin was a colonel).
Latest news: Even the police are refusing to follow the orders of their government, so the PM sacked the police chief. It looks very much like the army will be forced to act sooner or later, and probably against the government rather than against the PAD.
Latest rumours: Government supporters are planning rallies near government house. Nothing new.
Dangers: There has been some occasional gun fire at protest sites and at least two grenade attacks, so if you see a bunch of red shirts to your left and yellow shirts on your right, make a beeline for the door. Everywhere except for the airport and government house is safe, and wandering around Bangkok yesterday, I wouldn't have known the country is on the verge of a military coup. Business as usual, fun as usual, and probably going to get very cheap very soon.
Reply to this I didnt meet one person in Thailand who supported the PAD.
Not for political reasons, but that they thought that the PAD were ruining peoples livehoods and deterring tourists and investors.
The government have been trying to ignore the earlier protests in bangkok and let public sympathy turn against the PAD, but this is too serious now for them to ignore.
What do they do?
They cannot storm into the airport as the army seem split about who they support.
They can't leave the airports closed for much longer.
Seems to me that they will have to call *another* election, which will make things worse as the PAD want to change the constitution to stop the poor people from voting. Democracy, thai-style.
This is bad press for thailand and with the poor exchange rate (for the pound) it is going to hurt the whole country.
Reply to this I am still trying to figure out what is wrong with the government. I know they have some connection with the previous government, but have they actually done anything corrupt themselves?
As far as I see the PAD want to move towards less democracy, in the form of only wealther or high status people in society being allowed to be in the government.
...change the constitution to stop the poor people from voting.
It seems to me that the govenment promised to improve conditions for the poorest people during the elections and the PAD are calling this vote buying.
I tend to wonder what the point in having the army is if they dont do what they are told during a crisis in order to make the country safe and restore some order so things can funtion somewhat normally.
Reply to this Re: Message 29
If you have a flight from overseas and are traveling into the international airport, the chances your flight will take off and land in Bangkok are pretty slim right now. Even if the protest were to end tomorrow (Monday) it will take quite a few days before the airport becomes fully operational. Keep checking with your airline - they may be able to fly you to U-tapao (military airbase) and then bus you into Bangkok. They are also diverting incoming flights to Chiangmai and Phuket.
From the local TV reports and from speaking to friends in Bangkok, life goes on as normal for the vast majority of people - and if you stick to the hostel's advice to steer clear of the trouble spots you should be OK. Having said that, the situation has the potential to flare up into running battles between opposing factions. In all probability this would be confined to those areas already affected, but may spread.
If you are able to get to Bangkok and are worried about the situation there, either head out to the islands or travel North soon after you arrive.
You might also read the Bangkok Post and/or The Nation on line which would give you a feel for the local situation.
Reply to this sorry, mell. my mistake - they dont want to stop people voting, but they want to change the constitution to make about half of the government seats not elected by the people but appointed by business leaders and important people in the country.
Actually, not that different from non-hereditry peers in the House of Lords in the UK... but they are seperated from the elected governers. This is a knee-jerk reaction to the PAD (rich bangkok businessmen) losing electoral power (ie poor Isaan farmers).
my friends are stuck in Koh Lanta. They cant get home to rainy old cold London... they don't seem too bothered!!
Reply to this Thanks for the info Ross. 😊
my friends are stuck in Koh Lanta. They cant get home to rainy old cold London... they don't seem too bothered!!
I think I would do that too, if I couldnt fly and didnt have to worry about expiring visa stamps. An opportunity really! 😊
Reply to this Thanks Mell and Thaiyoo...Have read the Bangkok Post...Based on the news , dont think the airport would be opening soon as airport authorities mentioned that they would need at least a week to reopen the airport once and if the protester going off ....;( Too bad I have to cancelled the flight.....Thought able to spend my hols in Bangkok and enjoy the holiday mood.... Will need to see how the situation goes now in Bangkok then decide again......
Reply to this Here is a copy of a private message I received. Would somebody who has up to date information please post an answer.
Hello Mell,
I have been following your post “Are you on your way in or out of Thailand” and the reply's to keep updated on the situation going on over in Bangkok. I would like to know how if any people are getting into Bangkok, and what airlines are flying in there. Have you heard of any? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Reply to this Hello Kraig 😊
I heard that a few flights are managing to get out, but I dont know if any are getting into Thailand.
Mel
Reply to this I'm afraid it's getting worse before it is getting better.
the yellow ones are regrouping and moving people from parliament to the airport, that still is closed, a few empty planes was allowed to leave a few hours ago. Some company's are flying people out via the military airport or Phuket NO PLANES ARE LANDING. It will probably take at least two days to open the airport after the siege is ended and there is no sign of it being over yet. The police is doing nothing and thousands of redones is now in Bangkok so worst case is some major fighting. If you are trying to get in and out of Thailand STAY AWAY FROM BANGKOK.
Reply to this Me and my girlfriend were supposed to be flying to bangkok tomorrow (Tues 2nd Dec) with Jet Airways. We phoned today and our options are either a full refund, or, be put on a waiting list to fly on the 6th Dec, or, pay another £223 each to fly to Singapore.
So we are in the waiting list to fly on the 6th. I have read that the airport could take up to a week to sort out after the protesters leave, due to to the computer systems etc being compromised.
I can't believe the Goverment, Police or the Army haven't sorted this mess out sooner. I feel sorry for all the innocent people that have been greatly affected by the PAD's selfish 'protest'.
Reply to this Hello Joe 😊
Is Singapore the only alternative option? Can they not fly you to some other SE country at no extra charge?
😞 223 pounds is such a lot.
Reply to this They said that was the only destination we could change too. We got the flights really cheap (£500 each) so we don't really want a refund as re- booking will cost us alot more! so we may just have to wait until the problems are sorted. Weve seen flights to Phuket via Kuala Lumpur for £660 each, which is tempting.
Reply to this In-coming flights are being diverted to provincial airports and some flights are landing at U-tapao the naval airbase just outside Bangkok. The capacity has not been as great as Bangkok, but the longer the situation goes on the better the airlines are coping.
In fact, the Russians are still coming to Thailand as reported in The Moscow Times:
Quote:
Transaero spokesman Sergei Bykhal said flights from four Russian cities were arriving at U-Tapao regularly and were "pretty full."
"We haven't had a single person abandon their trip," said Vladimir Morozov, manager for Thailand at Roza Vetrov agency, adding that the agency has been telling people of the Foreign Ministry warning.
Unquote
The article does go on to say that there has been a significant drop in the number of new bookings.
In terms of outbound flights there are still over 100,000 tourists and business travelers waiting to leave.
In the meantime there seems to be no end in sight to the standoff between the anti-government protesters and the ruling coalition political parties. What everyone seesm to be waiting for is a ruling from the Constitutional Court, which is due later today, on whether or not vote-buying took place in the last general election. It is widely expected that the judgment will go against the politicians which would mean the dissolution of parliament and fresh elections called.
Both the Heads of the Army and the Airforce have called for the resignation of the Prime Minister as a means of diffusing the situation, and, yesterday, even a prominent Thaksin supporter urged the PM to step down. (Interesting that the Navy has not said anything so far!)
Reply to this hi all,
My flight is scheduled for friday into Bangkok. We were supposed to catch an internal flight from BKK to Hanoi. We have already paid for our flights and it looks like we have to make another plan. The options I have with my airline is to fly to Hong Kong and then to make my own way to vietnam. This is such an inconvenience because now we have to pay so much more money that I did not budget for at all.
I am not prepared to get a refund as I will be losing more money that way and I dont want to delay my holiday.
I am quite upset and dont really know what to do.
Reply to this 
