Both Major Airports in Thailand Closed

On Tuesday night, protesters took over the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, effectively shutting the country down in terms of international traffic. By Thursday, they also succeeded in taking over the domestic Don Muang airport, effectively canceling all flights within the country as well. Through the light of these events, the domestic turmoil of the country has been in the international spotlight for the past few days. The protesters, known as the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have been asking for their Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to step down due to his connections with the previous Prime Minister, who was ousted due to charges of corruption. While the current Prime Minister refuses to step down, he has also refused to reclaim the airport, which while peaceful, has caused the situation to be in a standstill.

Airport officials have released that they will not reopen the international airport until Monday night at 6 pm in Thailand since facilities will need to be cleaned and fully operational before being functional. However, that is contingent on the airport being cleared of its current occupants - the protesters. Since the PAD has made clear that the group has no intentions of moving out, it might take another few days, or even weeks before the PAD is convinced by negotiators to leave the airports.

The Suvarnabhumi International Airport handled over 40 million passengers, it was 18th busiest in the world in 2007, with an average of 700 flights a day. In order to thwart the loss of the two major airports in the country, the Thailand government has opened up U Ta Pao air force base, which is located about 140 kilometers (90 miles) south of Bangkok. While a few airlines have decided to use the base as their airport to make sure stranded passengers leave the country, others, such as Singapore Airlines, have decided to temporarily suspend all flights to and from Bangkok until further notice. Thai Airways has suspended all domestic flights from Don Mueang airport as well. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have both canceled their flights in and out of the city as well, but have set up flights for those who are stranded.

For the time being, Japan Airlines plans on flying one flight at 1PM in Thailand from U Ta Pao on Saturday, with a 324-seater Boeing 747-400 plane. It will board passengers according to how recently they made their reservation - older reservations will receive priority. On Sunday, the airline plans on two more flights, one at 1pm (a 245 seater Boeing 777) and another at 4 pm (a 382 seater Boeing 747-400).

All Nippon Airways is planning similar flights out. On Saturday, a 306 seater Boeing 777-200ER will fly from U Ta Pao base at 1:30pm. It is currently still planning flights for Sunday and Monday. The airline, unlike Japan Airlines, is also selling tickets for this flight as well.

Some tourists are taking several flights to return to their respective countries. A layover in Singapore and/or Malaysia has been popular enough to prompt Malaysia Air to change their Kula Lumpur to Phuket aircraft to a bigger one that seats more.

There are concerns that that are up to 10,000 Japanese stranded in the country. All of them are expected to be in hotels since none could be found in the airports. The same cannot be said of Americans - there are several stranded at the airports with an approximate total of about 4000 from all over the world. Currently, due to the government intervening, several hotels in Bangkok have opened their doors and are allowing guests who have already checked out to stay for free, as well as those who were originally planning on checking out. In addition, for tourists, even if their visa expires while they are in Thailand, as long as they show their original flight information, they will not be fined for overstaying.

While it is clear that the Thailand government has taken into consideration the concerns and needs of the travelers, the PAD has effectively frustrated many of them. Even though the protesters are giving away free food, distributing flyers to explain their reasoning behind their actions and being amicable, many tourists simply want to go home. Hopefully, many of them will be able to do so, in time.