Political problems reach the airport

[TBWG]

See    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7747886.stm


TBWG

[TBWG]

Well this really is amateur hour, 16th busiest airport in the world brought to a standstill by a few hundred protesters. Irrespective of the rights or wrongs of the political parties involved this is the type of thing you would expect from some Tinpot African dictatorship or some Caribbean banana republic.

Shame on Thailand for letting it come to this and now they are the laughing stock of the World.

TBWG

Perhaps some good might come of it for farangs if the Thai Baht bombs but the average Thai can only lose out.

[Lourens]

Just in case you were wondering…

Yes, I was caught up in the whole Bangkok Airport siege. I had a flight to South Africa at 00:40 on 26 November 2008. The hotel where I stayed in Bangkok suggested that I leave for the airport much earlier than usual because of the traffic situation around the airport. So I left at 19:00 with a very competent taxi driver who was in constant contact with his friends and eventually made it via back routes and arrived there at around 20:00. Check-in went quite normal and there was no indication of  trouble at all. Boarding was at midnight. I proceeded through passport control and did some browsing and shopping in the duty free area until 23:00 and then proceeded to the boarding gate. When I got there, I was told that there will be no boarding at this time and asked to contact the ground staff for more information. But doing that didn’t help much as they didn’t have any information either.  There were no indication on the information boards around the airport either. My boarding time came and went with no information given to anybody and asking questions just met with more confusion. “All flights cancelled” and “Flights delayed until later” was some of the answers. Here I have to give credit to the ground staff for their patients as they had to deal with irate passengers and repeated questions on a non-stop basis without once losing control. The worst thing about it all was that we couldn’t get any information and didn’t know what was going on. Eventually a around 01:00 a sign was put up saying that more info will be given at 05:00. This was later changed to 06:00. In the meantime, flights of foreign airlines were departing. It was only the Thai Airways flights (on which my flight was booked) that were not allowed to leave.

So, the only thing we could do was to sit around and wait. As those who know the new Bangkok airport would realize, there is no proper facilities to deal with this kind of delay. Not nearly enough chairs and only very cold and hard floors. I went to the duty free shopping area to buy a book to read but they were all closed. Not only closed - they were evacuated! Everything removed with only empty shelves remaining. It was eerie. Just a short while ago, the place was bustling with customers and now it was completely empty. At least a few restaurants were still doing business and I could get a cup of coffee. Meanwhile, all that the airport could manage was to make available some water, soft drinks cold and dry pastries. The money exchange counters were also closed so those without Thai currency could not even exchange their currencies to buy something to eat. The restaurants wouldn’t always take dollars or euros. It was not a pleasant experience.

06:00 came and went and at around 09:00 we were told that no flights will depart today either. Then suddenly at around 10:00 we were all told to proceed to immigration to evacuate the airport. The exit stamp in my passport was cancelled and we all collected our baggage. Then we were taken outside and told to wait for busses that will take us to hotels in Bangkok. Now, imagine about three thousand tired passengers all crowding outside in limited space waiting to board three busses. Again, not a nice experience. It seemed that they only had five busses and packed them with passengers and luggage to cart them off to some hotel. Then the busses returned and perform the same process again. Eventually more busses arrived and I was actually making progress towards the front of the crowd. Then we were suddenly told to move to another area where the busses will pick us up. This meant those at the back became those in front and vice versa. We were taken up a few levels and then to a covered parking area. About a kilometer walk up and down inclines with heavy bags and carry-on luggage. For some, this was already a very difficult activity and when they took away the trolleys made it even more difficult. Thank God I was alone and not like some of those with smalls kids to look after as well or some of the older people. It was everyone for themselves. Eventually it was my turn and I could get on a bus but when we started moving, it was not at all in the direction of Bangkok like we were all told. I later found out by way of translating my broken Thai that we were actually on our way to Pattaya about 150km away. I was separated from a few people who were also supposed to travel to South Africa and was hoping to stay together but now that was all gone.

I am now sitting in a very nice room in a big hotel being a package tourist on the Thai airways dollar. I’m waiting for 12:00 when we are supposed to get more information. We were given a number to call for ticketing reservation but I tried that many times only to get a busy tone.

Who knows what will happen next…

[TBWG]

BBC Latest ......


'Emergency rule at Thai airports'
Thai riot police patrol inside Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok, on Wednesday
The ruling gives the government new powers to impose order

Thailand's government says it will declare a state of emergency at Bangkok's two main airports, which have been taken over by protesters.

Ministers told reporters after an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the intensifying political crisis.

Anti-government protesters have shut down all civilian air traffic to Bangkok, leaving passengers stranded.

Reports say Bangkok is awash with rumours of an impending military coup after months of political stand-off.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat rejected a call by army leader Gen Anupong Paochinda for new elections to end the political deadlock.

The prime minister says his government is legitimate and that he will continue to work for the country.

But the government has been reluctant to confront protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who are demanding not only the overthrow of the current government but an overhaul of Thailand's entire political system.

Emergency rule?

Mr Somchai was forced to hold the cabinet meeting in the northern city of Chiang Mai after protests at both of Bangkok's main airports prevented him flying into the capital on his return from a summit in Peru.
See layout of Bangkok's international airport

Speaking afterwards, cabinet sources said emergency rule - which would empower the government to deploy the military and suspend certain civil liberties in order to restore order - would be imposed in the airport zones.

But it is unclear whether the army will now take over from the police the job of imposing order.



Thailand teeters on the brink
Earlier, the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok said such an attempt to draft in the army would be very difficult, given that the army chief has called for the government to stand down.

He says the atmosphere in Bangkok is increasingly jittery, with mounting rumours that a coup attempt may be launched after the army brought tanks into forward positions in the city. Gen Anupong has, however, denied any coup plot.

The government has urged Thai troops to stay in their barracks.

The announcement that a limited state of emergency will be imposed comes after the PAD protesters forced the closure of Bangkok's domestic airport, Don Mueang.

They had already occupied Suvarnabhumi international airport.

Thailand has been in political turmoil since former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

Fresh elections at the end of 2007 failed to resolve the crisis, when a party made up of former allies of Mr Thaksin returned to power.

And since August PAD protesters have launched an all-out assault on the government, occupying government buildings and seeing former Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej forced out of office, though on an apparently unrelated matter.

Correspondents say the government's reluctance to use force against the protesters has given them increasing confidence.

They have ignored a court order to vacate the international airport, and have brought in food and blankets in apparent preparation for a long stay.

All flights have been cancelled and thousands of Thais and foreign tourists are stranded.

On Thursday, the Associated Press quoted Tourism Minister Weerasak Kohsurat as saying stranded passengers with "urgent needs" could be flown out of military bases around Bangkok.

The blockade comes at the height of the tourist season and threatens an industry which is one of the country's biggest earners.

The campaign by the PAD, which began in earnest in May, has paralysed the Thai government.

The group - a loose alliance of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class - claim that the government is corrupt and hostile to the monarchy.

They also accuse it of being a proxy for Mr Thaksin, who remains very popular among Thailand's rural poor.


TBWG