OK, latest news from my visit to the airport which opened at 2pm today (Sunday).

Thai Air:

Most passengers are trying to return to BKK, so there is currently a bit of a 'bun fight' at the check-in desk. Between 17.00 and midnight on Sunday, there are five 747 planes leaving for BKK, (so capacity of about 2,000 people total). Boarding passes are being handed out to passengers who were due to fly before today, but it's on a standby basis, (and priority doesn't seem to be based on whether you have waited the longest time for your flight!). But there are plenty of planes if you are patient. My advice, if you don't want to wait in a queue for a few hours, is to wait until Monday.

Jetstar:

Jetstar don't seem to have spare planes to speed up getting delayed passengers back to Oz. Some guests in my hotel have been given seats on the flight on Thursday....

Other airlines:

Silkair, Malaysian Airlines, Korean, Bangkok Airways, AirAsia etc all seem to be getting their schedules back up to date rapidly. Korean Air already had planes at Phuket, so were able to leave this Sunday afternoon. (Silkair is leaving from Terminal 2).

The PAD protesters have been moved across the road opposite the main entrance to the airport, and this entrance is now open for cars/taxis etc.

If you do opt to queue for your Thai airways ticket, try to be patient. The Thai staff are under a lot of pressure from frustrated passengers, but the planes are getting back onto schedule and extra planes have been laid on to clear the backlog.

Simon

Cheers Simon, good reporting