Chiang Mai – Due to the current political unrest in Thailand, Rangoon-Bangkok flights have been temporarily suspended.
Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, the country's largest and a regional hub, has been under siege by the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) since 9 p.m. Tuesday, forcing the cancellation of all flights.
"We don't know when we can resume our flights," an official from Thai Airways International in Rangoon said. "Our passengers for this morning's flight are still waiting at Rangoon airport. We have arranged meals and everything for them."
The passengers of this evening's Thai Airways flight must still go to the airport in Rangoon and report at the check-in counter, otherwise they will be listed as 'No Show' and will lose all benefits from any flight cancellation, he said.
Similarly, today's Myanmar Airways International, Bangkok Airways and Air Asia flights to Bangkok have all been cancelled, he told Mizzima.
"We had to cancel flights today and still do not know how we can arrange for these passengers. We will know only when the airport is reopened," an official of Bangkok Airways said.
All international airlines in Thailand have postponed their flights and still don't know when normal operations can be resumed.
The Nation, published in Thailand, reported that PAD protesters have blocked all access roads to the airport, leaving about 3,000 passengers stranded.
PAD says it is determined to lay siege to Suvarnabhumi Airport until current Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat resigns from his post.
In what is rapidly amounting to the apex of a long drawn out political showdown, protesters timed the takeover of the airport with Somchai's absence in Peru, strangling government machinations. The Prime Minister is now on his way back from South America, expected to arrive in Thailand this evening.
PAD has accused Somchai of being the puppet of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, his brother-in-law, and is demanding the entire cabinet resign en masse or for the dissolution of parliament.
The protesters also blocked and laid siege to Donmeung Airport in Bangkok yesterday morning, which is being used as a makeshift government headquarters as PAD protesers have occupied Government House since August.
