Tourists stranded after Thailand airport riot

[serfty]

Does anyone have any news on the riots from expats? ...

There's a reasonable thread on the Thailand FT forum ...

 

[drron]

Just rang BA who said I can cancel this flight wIthout penalty. Rang travel agent who also will waive cancellation fees. Wait for this....it can take up to 12 weeks to see the money back in my credit card account!!!:evil:

Yes,thats airlines for you.I have been told the same.Same for friends on Thai.
BA will have had my money for 8 months by the time I see it.nice little earner!

 

[clifford]

I'm just about to cancel my confirmed trip to BKK in Feb.

I've been there many times, and the current uncertainty IMHO just isn't worth chancing.

It's an award ticket, so no penalties (with my status).

 

[JohnK]

There's a reasonable thread on the Thailand FT forum ...

I shall have a look at Thaivisa and a few other Thai forums when I get the chance later. I don't know too much about the type of people frequenting the FT Thailand forum but I am more interested in the point of view of the tourists already in Thailand at the moment and how the riots have affected them if at all.

 

[kpc]

John,
Here are the relevant threads....I've been following the threads very closely since Tuesday nite, leading to the cancellation today of my trip to BKK on Monday.

Suvarnabhumi Airport Cancels All Flights As Protesters Surge Into Terminal - Thailand Forum
BKK closed by anti-government protesters - Page 6 - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[drron]

And for a little background on the PAD-
THAILAND: Watershed moment for democracy and rule of law
“Final battle” can only end in Phyrric victory « Rule of Lords

 

[NM]

PAD protesters at Thai airports agree to talks with authorities

From news.com.au:

PAD protesters at Thai airports agree to talks with authorities

PROTESTERS occupying Bangkok's main international airport have agreed to hold formal talks with Thai authorities tomorrow.

Hundreds of police had also moved into position outside Suvarnabhumi international airport but it was "not for a crackdown", regional police deputy commander Major General Piya Sorntrakoon said.

 

[kpc]

Just spoke to my brother in Bangkok...he is trying to get on a flight out of U-Tapao, with out much luck so far. I sense that he is getting a bit worried...(unusual for him). He still has the train to Penang on Mon but I guess 23 hours is a bit daunting!

 

[simongr]

I have been told that my Thai sister in law is flying out of a military base in line with the original time plan...

 

[drron]

here is a site with views from some farangs in bangkok-interesting reading-
Bangkok, Living, Working, Teaching English, travel

 

[lisa31jane]

Changing Feb travel plans to BKK?

I had booked a 70th birthday trip for my Mum in February for a girls shopping week in BKK - now thinking it's too risky and looking at changing our plans.
Does anyone know if my travel insurance would cover any penalties this far out from the departure date in view of what is happening there now?
I am thinking of going elsewhere in Asia - we are flying SA from Brisbane via Singapore - so it would involve just changing the second sector to BKK or simply stopping in Singapore. Then there is our fully paid for hotel in BKK.

Any advice is greatly appreciated - I don't know what to do!

 

[drron]

Re: Changing Feb travel plans to BKK?

I had booked a 70th birthday trip for my Mum in February for a girls shopping week in BKK - now thinking it's too risky and looking at changing our plans.
Does anyone know if my travel insurance would cover any penalties this far out from the departure date in view of what is happening there now?
I am thinking of going elsewhere in Asia - we are flying SA from Brisbane via Singapore - so it would involve just changing the second sector to BKK or simply stopping in Singapore. Then there is our fully paid for hotel in BKK.

Any advice is greatly appreciated - I don't know what to do!

I very much doubt your travel insurance would cover you at this point in time.It is too far from your travel.So i would wait until much closer to the time.
If there is a DFAT warning then it is more likely you will be covered.As well February is a slow travel month so likely to be a lot of low prices if you change your mind.It is a pity you have prepaid your hotel as in the next few months there are several new hotels opening in Bangkok and with this current crisis I would be very surprised if there werent some really cheap hotel rooms there.
We visited Bangkok,I think 1992,just after a particularly bloody coup when there was a genuine pro-democracy protest.Many students were killed and when we arrived about a week later the tanks were still in the streets.However as tourists we had no problems.
Again with the inevitable drop in tourism there should be some real bargains in the Bangkok shops.If you did decide to cancel I dont think Singapore is a good shopping destination any more.KL would be worth considering and doesnt cost much from SIN.

 

[olamapus]

Just made it out of Thailand.

Flew MH783 yesterday from U-tapao to KL, then missed my connecting flight to Singapore so had to stay in KL last night and flew back to Singapore this morning.

The U-tapao airport was a disaster....

Check-in took over 4 hrs, and it was hot, everyone was pushing each other and getting angry...

Immigration / Security was *relatively* okay.

Lounge - nil

The pilot was struggling to taxi out on to the runway as all the aircraft was parked to close !!! So eventually took off for KL at 9pm.

I had left Bangkok at 10am that day for the airport, so it was a long day indeed !!!!

 

[winetraveller]

Ok so one positive has come out of the whole Bangkok debacle. Last night I flew on UA840/870 to SFO and was seated in UA's new back to front J config.

Firstly the seats are VERY comfortable. The old UA seats were soft and comfortable but did not recline nearly enough. Many other lie flat seats simply do not have enough padding and it sometimes feels as though your are on the rack.

I'm 6'2" and was able to stretch out completely. I was facing forward, although had chosen a backward facing seat moved to accomodate a family.

It also has two drop down arm rests so that you can make the space wider when you choose to sleep. I kept the one on the isle up all night as I felt a bit exposed with it down, I like the cocoon feel. While still not a patch on SQ's 777's and A380 seats this is a very significant improvement.

I sat next to the pilot's husband, who had taken advantage of the very low loads to take their 4 children to Oz for 30 hours in lieu of thanksgiving at home. The kids chuckled every time their heard their mum make an announcment, it was very cute.

The IFE was also a very significant improvement, although having done 12 long haul legs in the past three weeks meant that I'd seen most of the movies. The screen clarity is probable the best I have seen.

All in all it has made me reconsider flying with UA back to Oz, although I do still prefer SQ mainly because of the single row seats on the window. Additionally the UA 744 has four seats in the middle and feels a little cramped in comparison.


All in all good experience, although UA really need to find some staff who like their jobs, and maybe are under 50. I tried to get a drink in the middle of the night and pressed the call button 5 times with no response. Eventually I got up and helped myself.

 

[JohnK]

I have been doing a fair bit of reading from people on the ground in Thailand and from my understanding there is really nothing to be concerned about. In fact if you weren't aware of what was going on in BKK airport there is no indication in any other part of the country that anything is happening.

And if you are still concerned that there may be problems it is almost guarantee that this will blow over by 5 December. This is the King's birthday. I did say "almost" and if I understand PAD and their loyalty then this will be the case.

My trip will be going ahead in spite of the potential problems....

 

[kpc]

My brother and wife have managed to get an Air Asia flight out of U-Tapao to KUL today...this was after many phone calls and words of persuasion. They are currently on the 3 hour bus ride to U-Tapao airport having "checked in" for their AK flight at the Novotel Bangkok. In the end, they were only delayed by 1 day getting out of BKK; he and his wife were given THB2000 each by the Thai Govt (via their hotel) for their 1 day delay in Bangkok. He is very, very lucky... :shock:

 

[Hvr]

Am currently here in BKK (will get that trip report up to date very soon I promise) and suggest that things are on a tinder box.

The locals are very frustrated with the PAD and are openly apologising to farangs for the inconvenience we are experiencing.

They also know that their incomes are going to take a big hit once we leave and who to blame.

I suggest that things will get violent and probably sooner rather than later.

I am very glad i am going to be leaving tomorrow on the long way. Qantas have organised a trip home and I'll write it up. (bus from BKK to coughet then plane to SIn then plane to SYD).

 

[QF WP]

Thanks for the updated Hvr. Safe travels and may you get the SC's for the extra flights.

 

[NM]

Extra plane sent to bring back Aussies

from news.com.au:

QANTAS has sent an extra plane to Thailand to help fly out some of the 400 Australians stranded by airport blockades.

...

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says Qantas will have an extra flight back to Australia departing coughet late today.

 

[NM]

Evacuation of foreign passengers in Bangkok airports could take a month

From news.com.au:

GETTING thousands of foreign passengers home could take up to a month following anti-government protests which have paralysed Bangkok's airports.

And the effects on Thailand's tourism industry could be "mammoth".

About 30,000 passengers a day are missing flights because of the closures and with travellers being evacuated from a Vietnam War-era navy base in eastern Thailand, progress has been slow.