Hundreds of Aussies stranded in Thailand

[oz_mark]

Hundreds of Aussies stranded in Thailand

Hundreds of Australian travellers remain in limbo in Thailand after protesters seeking to overthrow the government have forced the closure of three airports.

The resort island of coughet was the first airport to shut its doors, followed by Krabi and Hat Yai in the country's south as protests spread across the country on Friday.

Jetstar diverted its Sydney-coughet flight to Bangkok on Friday night.

 

[Mrmaxwell]

As JQ27 was diverted to BKK and with HKT still closed this means all those on the return flight back to SYD from HKT will also be stranded.

At least JQ are putting everyone up in hotels for the night in BKK - what if HKT remains closed for several days?

Nasty.

SMH:
Australians stranded in Thailand - Travel - smh.com.au

 

[JonnoP]

im currently in coughet at the moment with my family. We are scheduled to fly out to singapore on Tuesday with Tiger airways. I then have a rewards booking from Singapore back to Melbourne on QF10 on the Wednesday. My concern is if I am stuck in HKT beyond Tuesday, what happens to my rewards booking from SIN - MEL the following day??

I have yet to contact my travel insurance company, however I will be considering it on Monday if the situation does not change.

Jonnop

 

[Mrmaxwell]

im currently in coughet at the moment with my family. We are scheduled to fly out to singapore on Tuesday with Tiger airways. I then have a rewards booking from Singapore back to Melbourne on QF10 on the Wednesday. My concern is if I am stuck in HKT beyond Tuesday, what happens to my rewards booking from SIN - MEL the following day??

I have yet to contact my travel insurance company, however I will be considering it on Monday if the situation does not change.

Jonnop

I am sure if you contact QF they will be able to assist with adjusting your rewards booking if you cannot make it out of HKT given the current circumstances. The travel insurance is a nice back up.

 

[JohnK]

One way of getting out of coughet is to hire a private car back to Bangkok. Not sure what they are charging now but the trip is around 12 hours. Another way back to Bangkok is by bus or train.

If Koh Samui is still open then that may also be an option to try and get there and either fly back to Bangkok or Singapore with Bangkok Airways.

Are acts of terrorism or revolutions covered under a travel insurance policy? Some policies specifically mention these events in their general exclusions.

From Travel Insurance Direct

We will not pay for any of the following claims or losses:

A loss that arises from any act of war (whether war is declared or not) or from any rebellion, revolution, insurrection or taking of power by the military.

Good luck for anyone that is stuck there and trying to get out. I can think of worse places to be stranded than Thailand.

 

[oz_mark]

I would think that in this particular instance, the section under additional expenses would be more applicable (I would call this more a civil commotion, of course an insurance company may not):

Cancellation or restriction of scheduled public transport services caused by severe weather, natural disaster, hijacking, riot, strike, or civil commotion. The event must have begun after we issued the Certificate of Insurance. You must have done everything reasonable to avoid the expenses and you must get the carrier’s written confirmation of your claim.

The other issue to consider is what travel warnings were in place at the time.

( I do have a friend that was supposed to be travelling to coughet today, so have been reading a different policy in case refunds are not forthcoming, and it has similar distinctions. But, yes, policy wording may be important)

 

[bambbbam2]

im currently in coughet at the moment
Jonnop

Do you know any news of the TG flight to HKT from PER yesterday (Sat) morning?

My mum was on that flight, I don't know what has happened or where it ended up..

 

[oz_mark]

Do you know any news of the TG flight to HKT from PER yesterday (Sat) morning?

My mum was on that flight, I don't know what has happened or where it ended up..

I think it wnt straight through to Bangkok

ROYAL e-booking:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]BKK DIV HKT BKK
- - BKK OPERATIONAL LIMITATION AT DESTINATION
- - BKK AA 1441 AIRCRAFT LANDED
- - BKK AA 1450 ARRIVED
- - BKK EA 1440 ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL [/FONT]

 

[JohnK]

I would think that in this particular instance, the section under additional expenses would be more applicable (I would call this more a civil commotion, of course an insurance company may not):

I don't know Mark. The south of Thailand has not been stable for many years now. To me it sounds more like a revolution or even the military again getting involved in trying to overthrow the government. I have heard that the king has now being involved so the situation is not being treated lightly. Thailand relies heavily on tourism.

It may well be covered by some travel insurance policies but people need to be aware these types of exclusions exist in travel insurance policies. And another thing to beware is the complimentary travel insurance policies that are offered by credit cards as opposed to comprehensive travel insurance policies offered by specific insurance companies. The travel insurance offered via a credit card is basic and may not cover for these types of situations at all.

 

[oz_mark]

I don't know Mark. The south of Thailand has not been stable for many years now. To me it sounds more like a revolution or even the military again getting involved in trying to overthrow the government.

While the southern areas have been unstable, and there has been a 'do not travel' advisory, I do not believe this included coughet (which was on the Thai catch-all of exercise caution).

Sounds more of a civil thing, as it does not strike me as the usual MO when the military is involved in changing the government

 

[dot]

both VT01 and I are headed to BKK now. Will wave to the stranded JQ pax when we get there... Its a shame their holidays were spoiled...

Sent from on board BA10

 

[dot]

Update - According to a local newspaper (Bangkok Post), coughet (HKT) and Krabi (KBV) airports reopened about 11am local time yesterday. Hopefully JQ will have been able to get those stranded where they need to be yesterday,last night and this morning...