Anti-government protesters in Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok, have brought commercial air travel to a virtual standstill since Tuesday, when they seized the country’s two main airports, preventing up to 300,000 travelers from boarding their flights and leaving the country.
The nearly 6,000 demonstrators who are intent on dislodging Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat have not only disrupted air service during the height of the country’s tourist season, but also Thailand’s mail service, food delivery systems and other vital infrastructure.
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi international airport was taken over on Tuesday, and the capital’s domestic airport was seized the following day, grounding all flights into and out of the city.
Apparently police patrolling the two airports were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of protesters, and were powerless to resist them.
In an attempt to deal with the hordes of stranded tourists, most of them from Europe, America and other Western countries, some airlines have been shifting their operations to airports in parts of the country not affected by the conflict.
Frustrated travelers have trekked as far as Chiang Mai in the far north of the country and Phuket in the south in a desperate attempt to get on flights and get back home. Officials from Australia and France have even chartered planes in some areas to get citizens of those countries out of Thailand.
However, many embassies have advised against leaving Bangkok because of the unstable political situation in the country. Though no tourists have been hurt or killed, there have been reports of sporadic violence between police and protestors. For now, authorities are advising travelers to hunker down and wait.
The airport closures have also affected those outside of Thailand, who are unable to fly into the country until the crisis is resolved. And inside the country, up to 40,000 people per day are added to the total number stranded as the airports remain closed.
Unfortunately, there is no firm timetable as to when normal air traffic operations will resume, since government officials have been extremely slow to respond to the political crisis. Neither the army nor the king have stepped in to break the logjam and address the protestors’ issues. However, the head of the Airports Authority of Thailand has said that he hopes the airports will be reopened by Wednesday.
Some observers predict that the protests will cause severe losses to both the country’s tourism revenue, and to its reputation as a safe and stable vacation destination. Revenue losses for the last two months of 2008 are expected to add up to $4.2 billion, which equals 1.5 percent of Thailand’s gross domestic product. Fewer are expected to travel to the country over the next few months.
UPDATE: Following the decision by the Thai courts to dissolve the ruling parties, demonstrators have left Bangkok’s airports. While they began to depart on Dec. 3rd, most airport officials are saying it could take up to two weeks to restore full capacity.
By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.
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