Coronavirus: Brit couple fear they'll be trapped in Thailand for months as flights axed

[Eibot]

It's the Mirror folks...if it was printed I would use it to wipe my bums.

 

1) This was all over the news, and everyone knew this was coming

2) Flight are still available direct to UK or alternative to Europe against OK'ish prices

3) This is clearly a lack of funds issue, or else the embassy would have helped them.

 

Som nam na.

[sammieuk1]

Not much sympathy and compassion here is there for the couple I'm stuck here in the UK after the death of my father and try trying to claim universal credit after £2,500 worth of failed unrefunded flights and failed to arrive goods and services but I'm 105,597th in the queue for verification on .gov have a nice day???? 

[MyTHaiMyKe]

It is called chinese torture to be forced to stay in Thailand!

[Matzzon]

They are not stuck. Just looking for an extended holiday at the expenses of a go fund me account.

[Chivas]

What most posters dont grasp is that in Britain we have a very very special kind of stupid.....

[OneMoreFarang]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Quality tourist? 

[mike787]

All will be ok...RELAX!  If it's time to die, we all die...enjoy thailand.

[Longchop]

2 hours ago, Longchop said:

Always amazed how dumbos like these even find their way to the airport where they always  clog up the security/ immigration lines because they think that the rules don't apply to them. Then arrive at  their destination with £2 spending money and expect us all to believe they are millionaire ex sas operatives  and now attention seeking wanting their mugs in the papers because of a hiccup in their travel itinery. STILL PLENTY OF FLIGHTS/SEATS TO UK EVERY DAY around £500 each so go buy your tickets and <deleted> of home you muppetts

If you cannot afford the price of a one way ticket home in case of emergency don't travel in the first place

[crazykopite]

Get a flight with Qatar a brill company and when you get back to UK put in a claim to your original provider if you paid by credit card you will be covered and I would have thought you purchased insurance.

[RichardColeman]

I'm safely back in uk now and on the uk news yesterday was a reporter reporting from the airport in BKK. One family had their original TA flights booked and then cancelled. They then rebooked TA at £9,000 , only to be cancelled again, then Thai airways said they could rebook at a cost of £12,000 - understandably they were broke by then.

[Kadilo]

2 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

I'm safely back in uk now and on the uk news yesterday was a reporter reporting from the airport in BKK. One family had their original TA flights booked and then cancelled. They then rebooked TA at £9,000 , only to be cancelled again, then Thai airways said they could rebook at a cost of £12,000 - understandably they were broke by then.

I flew back yesterday with EVA. There were people at check in saying they had paid £5000 for their tickets last minute. I saw them still available on Sky scanner the day before for £600. 

[Longchop]

Must be a big family. Still seats available to manchester and london for around £500 each

[balo]

Only one word for this couple: Idiots!

[rumak]

31 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Quality tourist? 

well fed 

 

[CNXexpat]

4 hours ago, spiekerjozef said:

I thought many people loved to stay an extra couple months in Thailand.

Yes, during their vacation. But perhaps they have kids at home and grandma has not so much time to take care of them anymore, I guess they have jobs and so on. 

[Arkady]

2 hours ago, lkn said:

The couple are not in their 20s or 30s, the women is quoted as being 40.

 

At that age you should know better, or at least know that if you travel in the midst of a pandemic, where a lot of flights have already been cancelled, you are very likely to be stuck somewhere, and if you do, don’t “tweet the Prime Minister” and expect a response (yes, the article mentions she did that).

 

Actually, you don’t have to go back more than 10 years with the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, which closed most of Europe’s airspace and also left a lot of people stranded in Asia.

 

That was actually *less* predictable than this current situation, as the writing has definitely been on the wall for quite some time. Case in point, the ministry of foreign affairs in my country not only advised everyone to get back home weeks ago, they also texted me directly about open seats on a plane leaving for Scandinavia a few days ago, and yesterday I got another text basically saying “if you don’t leave now, don’t expect *any* planes at all after 1st of April”.

 

Sad story but sounds like they must have flown out to Thailand around mid March when things were already looking dicey and the risk of being stranded was rising daily. I think I would have cancelled.

[BestB]

5 hours ago, Canuck1966 said:

Not even that much

Can fly Qatar to Manchester  370 quid one way or 335 to London

That's on the 1st april, only a week away!

Do not know how true but reports are airline accepting only nationals of its origin Ie only nationals of Qatar 

[tonray]

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

What if they don't have any money to stay beyond their original two weeks?

Lots of people come on holiday with just enough to last and maybe 100 quid for an emergency.

ATM machine would be the obvious choice

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, saakura said:

Maybe not all white men coming to Thailand have had a damaged past and ended up here on a rebound.

You're OK with a fat girl then?

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, tonray said:

ATM machine would be the obvious choice

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1155706-all-atms-appear-to-be-down-930-25th/?do=findComment&comment=15205518

Edited March 25, 2020 by BritManToo

[Chivas]

37 minutes ago, Arkady said:

Sad story but sounds like they must have flown out to Thailand around mid March when things were already looking dicey and the risk of being stranded was rising daily. I think I would have cancelled.

Anyone in their rights minds would have cancelled Mid March but rest assured they're British. Further words superfluous.....

[Nice Boyd]

Boycott Gofund me for these tools , who pushed the Envelope 

[Caldera]

What's the big difference, they will be under lockdown either here or there!

 

I agree with those who say that they probably shouldn't have traveled in the first place. The situation was bound to escalate when they embarked on their trip.

 

[Prince77]

status today: airlines still flying out of Bangkok - Lufthansa, Eurowings, Swiss, Thai Airways, Air France, KLM, Finnair, Qatar Airways, EVA Air und Norwegian.

 

Thai will suspend all flights to Europe from 1st of April.

 

Good luck to all - just changed my flight on QR from 2nd. of April to be on 28th of March to be sure.

[PETERTHEEATER]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

no information or hope of getting home after the travel company decided to axe all flights for two weeks starting from Wednesday.

Er, did their 'travel company' axe the flights? Emirates suspended some flights for forty eight hours, including one of mine but it is now reinstated. If these pax bought the cheapest non-flexible tickets then they will find themselves at the back of the queue for seats out. I suspect that Emirates, who normally have four flights a day BKK to DXB are now trying to reduce the number of aircraft and fill up seats so there is a limited number. Whinging to the Daily Mirror is pathetic.

[Just Weird]

8 hours ago, madmitch said:

Theyre not exactly unique. There are probably thousands of people in the same position right now. It's not news.

The Mirror makes it news because it pays for these stories!

[Just Weird]

7 hours ago, BritManToo said:

What if they don't have any money to stay beyond their original two weeks?

They could use the money that they would have needed as soon as they got back home, living in the UK isn't free of charge! Unless they came out here with, literally, nothing to use when they got back.

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Very ignorant and uninformed it seems.

I did not even need to read the mirror article about them to know they would complain about no money.

Gofundme I bet soon.

Good luck..

A couple more weeks off the "Lancashire hot pot" will do her good ^^

[roo860]

8 hours ago, Canuck1966 said:

Not even that much

Can fly Qatar to Manchester  370 quid one way or 335 to London

That's on the 1st april, only a week away!

Just looked on their website, Bkk to Manchester, one way, just over 81,000bt. Sunday 29th March.

Edited March 25, 2020 by roo860

[roo860]

32 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

A couple more weeks off the "Lancashire hot pot" will do her good ^^

I think a beard suits her.