37 planes evacuated from Thai airport
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 17:04:00 12/01/2008
Filed Under: Bangkok Crisis, Air Transport, Crisis, Protest
BANGKOK—Anti-government protesters allowed 37 empty airliners to leave Bangkok's besieged main airport following a request by Thai authorities, with the remaining 51 set to leave soon, officials said Monday.
A total of 88 aircraft had been stranded at Suvarnabhumi international airport since demonstrators stormed the terminal and forced it to close last Tuesday, an Airports of Thailand spokeswoman said.
"Thirty-seven aircraft have left Suvarnabhumi since the first aircraft of Siam GA (a regional airline) took off on Sunday evening," the spokeswoman said.
"International airlines will have to contact us to take those stranded aircraft out of Suvarnabhumi."
No passengers were however allowed to leave through Suvarnabhumi, officials said.
The People's Alliance for Democracy protest movement has refused to leave the airport, and the smaller Don Mueang domestic hub in Bangkok which it has occupied since Thursday, until the government resigns.
Eleven of the remaining 51 aeroplanes belong to foreign airlines including Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Japan's All Nippon Airways and Scandinavian airline SAS, the kingdom's air traffic control agency said.
The others belong to Thai airlines, with 32 owned by flag carrier Thai Airways, said Puttawan Noirod, a spokesman for the agency, called Aeronautical Radio of Thailand.
Figures for the aircraft that have departed were not immediately available.
Eight airlines have submitted flight plans to leave the besieged airport, said Puttawan.
Aeronautical Radio of Thailand president Somchai Thean-anant said he was confident the rest of the trapped planes would leave soon.
"Both runways are open," Somchai said. "We have mapped out a plan to evacuate the stranded aircraft at Suvarnabhumi Airport as soon as possible but it depends on airline readiness."
About 100,000 travellers have been stranded in Thailand by the protests, with the main exodus point so far being the Vietnam War-era U-Tapao naval base 190 kilometers (118 miles) southeast of Bangkok.
Acting national police chief General Prateep Tanprasert said the agreement to let the empty planes leave Suvarnabhumi was helpful, adding that negotiations with the demonstrators were "progressing".
"There are positive signs such as the releasing of planes and allowing Muslim pilgrims to leave. We may still have a positive end at this stage," Prateep said.
Hundreds of Muslims who were trapped at Suvarnabhumi for days as they headed for the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia were taken to U-Tapao by bus on Sunday.
Foreign passengers began checking in Monday at special desks set up by airlines at hotels in Bangkok and a major convention centre in the capital, as part of a bid to ease the backlog, officials said.
Travellers have also been flying from regional hubs including the southern tourist town of Phuket and the northern city of Chiang Mai, where Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat himself is stranded.
Australian airline Qantas on Monday sent an extra plane to Phuket to bring home hundreds of travellers, while Air France-KLM said it would operate a similar flight.
The French government said a heavy transport plane would fly from the U-Tapao base. Spain has also sent two military planes and a chartered aircraft, which are due to arrive there on Monday.
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