Thai protesters have agreed to let 88 aircraft fly out of Bangkok’s international Suvarnabhumi Airport, which they have been occupying since Tuesday. The agreement came after hours of negotiations between protest leaders and Airports of Thailand, the airport’s owner and operator, according to the report by TNN channel. Officials at Airports of Thailand couldn’t immediately be reached for confirmation…
Thai protesters have agreed to let 88 aircraft fly out of Bangkok’s international Suvarnabhumi Airport, which they have been occupying since Tuesday. The agreement came after hours of negotiations between protest leaders and Airports of Thailand, the airport’s owner and operator, according to the report by TNN channel. Officials at Airports of Thailand couldn’t immediately be reached for confirmation.
The first of the 88 aircraft already has left the ground at Suvarnabhumi Sunday night, the report said. The agreement will allow the aircraft of Thai and international airlines to fly to airports in other provinces of the country to help evacuate tourists who have been stranded in the kingdom since Bangkok’s two main airports were seized by protesters.
This is the first gesture of goodwill from the protesters, although there is still no sign they will leave the airport anytime soon.
One million tourism employees face job loss
At least one million Thais employed in the tourism sector could lose their jobs next year due to the damage being done to the industry by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporters through their invasion of the two Bangkok airports.
The government has decided to spend around one billion baht to help the stranded foreign tourists in Thailand and Thais stranded overseas to fly home. Deputy Prime Minister Olarn Chaipravat, who oversees economic affairs, held a press conference at the Foreign Ministry yesterday where he said hotels, restaurants and tour agencies made up the industry hardest hit by the PAD’s seizure of the Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports.
Thailand, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, could suffer a dramatic fall in visitors next year if the country’s political crisis drags on. Mr Olarn said he expected tourist arrivals to fall to 13.5 million this year from 14.5 million last year, and to 6 million to 7 million people next year.
“Next year, foreign tourist arrivals may fall by half and about one million people may be jobless if we don’t have any measures to help them,” said Mr Olarn after attending an urgent meeting at the ministry to discuss ways to help the stranded here and Thais stuck overseas due to the closure of the two airports. He said the government would allocate at least one billion baht to take care of the stranded passengers in Thailand and the 50,000 Thais grounded overseas as a result of the imposition of emergency rule at the two airports.
The Tourism and Sport Ministry would pay 2,000 baht per head per day for their accommodation and meals.
Mr Olarn has arranged a meeting with owners of tourism businesses tomorrow to evaluate the situation and discuss the tourism plan for next year. Major airlines are setting up temporary check-in counters at six major locations in Bangkok: the Asia Hotel, JW Marriott Hotel, Mae Nam Hotel, Centara Grand Hotel, Imperial Queen’s Park and the Bitec Convention Centre in Bang Na.
Weerasak Kohsurat, the tourism and sport minister, has apologised to the stranded visitors for the inconvenience caused and told them they would have to wait for a few more days before they could access these check-in points as the systems still need some adjustments to meet international requirements.
“I would like to urge all the Thai people to help take care of these foreign tourists, as that would be a good way of expressing our friendship in time of crisis,” said Mr Weerasak.
Updated information on tourism crisis and relating measures:
1. The stranded foreigners staying in the hotels as the namelist attached since the first day (25th November, 2008) of the disruption of air traffic at Suvarnabhumi International Airport will be offered free of charge of accommodation and three meals at the amount of 2,000 baht per day per head. Stranded foreigners staying in the designated hotels who had already paid for accommodation can not request for reimbursement. In this regard, stranded foreigners are kindly requested to present necessary documents to the designated hotels as follows:
1) Certified Copy of Passport
2) Certified Copy of Air Ticket, and
3) Hotel’s folio for your accommodation during this period.
2. Information on flights, airports, and check in terminals will be informed through foreign missions, hotels, and international airlines on regular basis.
3. Thai Airways International is providing In Town Check In Services at Centara Grand Hotel. Meanwhile, another In Town Check-In Services will be set up at Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), starting from 1 December, 2008. Stranded foreigners are kindly requested to contact your airlines or travel agencies for further information.
4. It is strongly recommended that stranded foreigners should contact their respective airlines for logistic arrangement before going to U-taphao Airport due to the limited facilities at U-taphao Airport.
5. For an updated information, please contact your embassies or the following Call Centers:
1) Emergency Tourist Assistance Center: 1414 0-2356-0720
2) Tourist Police: 1155
3) Tourism Authority of Thailand: 1672
1. The stranded foreigners staying in the hotels as the namelist attached since the first day (25th November, 2008) of the disruption of air traffic at Suvarnabhumi International Airport will be offered free of charge of accommodation and three meals at the amount of 2,000 baht per day per head. Stranded foreigners staying in the designated hotels who had already paid for accommodation can not request for reimbursement. In this regard, stranded foreigners are kindly requested to present necessary documents to the designated hotels as follows:
1) Certified Copy of Passport
2) Certified Copy of Air Ticket, and
3) Hotel’s folio for your accommodation during this period.
2. Information on flights, airports, and check in terminals will be informed through foreign missions, hotels, and international airlines on regular basis.
3. Thai Airways International is providing In Town Check In Services at Centara Grand Hotel. Meanwhile, another In Town Check-In Services will be set up at Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), starting from 1 December, 2008. Stranded foreigners are kindly requested to contact your airlines or travel agencies for further information.
4. It is strongly recommended that stranded foreigners should contact their respective airlines for logistic arrangement before going to U-taphao Airport due to the limited facilities at U-taphao Airport.
5. For an updated information, please contact your embassies or the following Call Centers:
1) Emergency Tourist Assistance Center: 1414, 0-2356-0720
2) Tourist Police: 1155
3) Tourism Authority of Thailand: 1672
Hotels are kindly requested to submit all documents through Thai Hotels Association to Ministry of Tourism and Sports for clearance.
As of 2 December 2008, 13.00 hrs.: To facilitate the confirmation of flights for remaining passengers, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) urges tourists/travellers to contact airline Reservation Centres directly by telephone or e-mail. Additionally, individuals who are waiting for flight confirmation are requested to refrain from switching hotels at this time. This will make it easier for airline representatives to maintain contact with individual passengers as soon as flights out of Bangkok/Thailand become available.
Tourists should stay at their hotel as well as identify themselves to their respective airlines. When the tourist’s ticket has been confirmed, the airline will contact him/her directly at the hotel. Following this, the tourist must go to one of the following Terminal Centres to transfer them to BITEC:
– Twin Tower (contact: Khun Nalinee 085 075 9998 Khun Vachirachai 081 831 5554)
– Imperial Queen’s Park (contact: Khun Pinyo 089 068 2909)
– Holiday Inn Hotel (contact: Khun Soraya 089 980 8737)
To minimize confusion and delays at the airport, the express check-in centre at the Bangkok International Trade Exhibition Centre (BITEC), located at 88 Bangna-Trad Road KM. 1 Bangna Bangkok 10260, has been established for the passengers who have received the flight confirmation from the airline representatives. The passengers must check in at least seven hours before flight departure. The available airlines check-in counters in BITEC are Thai Airways (TG), Air Asia (AK), Bangkok Flight Service (BFS), Singapore Airlines (SQ), Bangkok Airways (PG), Eva Airways (BR), China Southern Airlines (CZ), Qatar Airways (QR), Garuda Indonesia (GA) and Hong Kong Express (UO). The number of airlines is subject to increase without notice. For more information, kindly contact 02 749 3939.
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited has arranged check-in counters at the lobby area, 1st Floor, EH106 Building BITEC Bang-Na Exhibition Centre for THAI passengers who have already received flight confirmation from THAI reservations. THAI will then check in passengers and provide transfers from BITEC Bang-Na to U-Tapao Airport in Rayong.
THAI requests passengers with ticket reservations before 25 November 2008, travelling during 25 November – 31 December, 2008, to contact THAI’s reservation and ticketing offices to re-book their reservations:
– THAI’s Head Office, Vibhavadi Rangsit Road
– THAI’s Larn Luang Office, Larn Luang
– THAI’s Silom Office, BUI Building, opposite AIA Building on Suriwongse Road.
For further information and reservations, kindly contact 02 356 1111 or for other assistance at Tel. 02 545 4000.
Bangkok Airways commenced two daily flights between Hua Hin and Samui during 1 December until further notice in order to connect passengers going to Singapore or Hong Kong via Samui. Additionally, the airline also operates between U-Tapao – Siem Reap, U-Tapao – Luang-Prabang, U-Tapao – Maldives, U-Tapao – Guilin, U-Tapao – Samui, and U-Tapao – Phuket. For more information, kindly contact 1771, 02 265 8777, or www.bangkokair.com
The following hotels have available accommodation for today:
1. Eastin Hotel
Address: 1091/343 New Petchburi Road, Makkasan, Rajthevee, Bangkok 10400
Tel: 02-651-7600
E-mail: info@eastinbangkokhotel.com
2. Ibis Hotel
Address: 5 Soi Ramkhamhaeng 15, Ramkhamhaeng Rd., Bangkok 10240
Tel: 02-308-7888
3. Imperial Queen’s Park
Address: 199 Sukhumvit Soi 22, Sukhumvit Road
Khlongtan, Khlongton District, Bangkok 10110
Tel: 02-267-9000, 02-261-9300
4. Regent Hotel (Suvarnabhumi)
Address: 30/1-32/1 Soi Ladkrabang 22, Ladkrabang
Bangkok 10520
Tel: 02 326 7138-43
E-mail: info@regentsuvarnabhumi.com
5. Siam City Hotel
Address: 477 Si Ayuthaya Road, Phayathai, Bangkok 1040
Tel: 02 247 0123
E-mail: siamcity@siamhotels.com
6. Holiday Inn Silom
Address: 981 Silom Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel: 02 – 238 – 4300
Ministry of Tourism and Sports (02) 356- 0711
(02) 356- 0720
Tourist Police 1155
Tourism Authority of Thailand 1672
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
