Does Anyone Think Airports Will Close Due To Trouble ,

[dmax]

im due out with family on mon 24th may , hope the airports are going to be safe zones , will the government troops /police have the sense this time not to let it be taken

[kohkoh]

i don't think it will be close. don't worry.

[simcity]

I think you can be safe, the red will not do something the yellow done & they do not have the number to take over the airport who is well army guard! That my opinion

[roamer]

A far more likely scenario that could affect you is the FCO upping its advice to "against all travel" instead of "all but essential travel" as it stands at present. That presents travel insurance problems but can also result in airline route changes, situation is too fluid at the moment.

[rak sa_ngop]

I am due out on the 24th as well. Maybe we can share an armoured vehicle to the airport. What time is your flight?

[simcity]

Must be few trucks lying around lumpini, anyone want a new business venture? already two lots of customers !

Edited May 14, 2010 by simcity

[roamer]

Here is some info on what can happen if situation develops.

Destination Expert

for Bangkok, Air Travel

There is several things that go into the decision to temporarily stop flying to a specific destination.. In no specific order,

A) Insurance coverage. Airline must carry mandatory liability insurance (of course) that covers them for catastrophic incidents like crashes, aircraft destruction and the like.. These insurance carriers have language in their policies that stipulates when coverage does not apply for specific types of situations.. So, *if* a situation were to occur, that falls outside of the airlines liability coverage, then they’d have no choice but to stop flying that specific route/city or whatever was uncovered.

National Government Regulation. The airlines' home country can withdraw permission for an airline to fly to a specific country, specific airport or route. Usually this is done under the guise of safety, but it can also be economic sanctions or the like. Again, like insurance coverage, unless the airline has permission to fly that route, they can’t.

C) Labor Contract. Some airlines have labor contracts that have clauses contained within that says in effect that they cannot force employees—mostly on-board crew—from working to/from a city/zone/country that fails to meets certain safety standards. This is usually triggered when a country becomes subject to a full blown travel restriction or similar drastic measures.

It’s not something they take lightly since there are serious costs involved.. Not only the ‘lost’ passenger and cargo revenue from non-flying- in both directions, but also costs incurred to re-deploy that aircraft and crew, or if not re-used, they sit idle but the airline still pays the payment on the plane and crew salaries. In other cases, depending on aircraft routing, it may also disrupt other ‘down-line’ flights.. Example is EVA Air, who operates LHR-BKK-TPE. If you cancel the LHR-BKK sector, where is the aircraft to fly BKK-TPE?

Travel Safe,

Trip Advisor

A specific problem here is that because Bangkok airport has "history" the underwriters get nervous about it no matter what the Thai authorities might claim about its safety, these birds are expensive. Also the crews not over happy because they have to leave the airport, not merely transit through it, because of regulations affecting their flying hours. So as I said earlier its a very fluid situation. If the FCO advise elevates to "all travel" then all bets are off. You might want to go there, the folks who have to drive and work on the bus might not.

[mrbojangles]

My wife and baby are travelling back on monday morning. Her brother is picking them up from Swampy and driving them to Chaiyaphum. We have a Thai TV Channel here in Saudi that reported this morning about distruptions on motorways. Anyone have any info on distruptions in and out of Swampy on the motorways?

[Chaimai]

My wife and baby are travelling back on monday morning. Her brother is picking them up from Swampy and driving them to Chaiyaphum. We have a Thai TV Channel here in Saudi that reported this morning about distruptions on motorways. Anyone have any info on distruptions in and out of Swampy on the motorways?

highly unlikely. I picked up a friend a week ago when there was supposed to be 'activity' and I saw nothing.

I am flying back to Uk on Sunday - I shall be happy if they close the airport for a couple of weeks.

[dmax]

surely if the flights are called off then the airline will fly us out on a later date ? thats suits me just fine ? any ideas ?

[mrbojangles]

My wife and baby are travelling back on monday morning. Her brother is picking them up from Swampy and driving them to Chaiyaphum. We have a Thai TV Channel here in Saudi that reported this morning about distruptions on motorways. Anyone have any info on distruptions in and out of Swampy on the motorways?

highly unlikely. I picked up a friend a week ago when there was supposed to be 'activity' and I saw nothing.

I am flying back to Uk on Sunday - I shall be happy if they close the airport for a couple of weeks.

A mate of mine got delayed due to the Volcanic ash a few weeks ago. He wasn't crying himself to sleep either

[roamer]

surely if the flights are called off then the airline will fly us out on a later date ? thats suits me just fine ? any ideas ?

They will, or offer a refund. Another option they might offer if Bangkok becomes a no-go for them is a flight via somewhere like KL. A lot depends on your airline as well as the situation. Who are you with ?

[321niti123]

I went to the airport in april and it was guarded. Atleast 3 roadblocks to check the cars coming in, don't think it changed so it might be hard for reds to take over the airport and probably will not happen.

[elkangorito]

Me: Oh Crystal Ball, will Suvarnabhumi Airport be closed at any time on the 24th of May?

Crystal Ball (CB): In Thailand?

Me: Yes. Thailand.

CB: Wait a minute please.

<5 minutes later>

Me: What's taking so long?

CB: Sorry. As soon as you said Thailand, a thick red fog appeared so I had to ask some of my other 'crystal ball' colleages.

Me: What did they say?

CB: They couldn't see a thing either due to the thick red fog...sorry. Just out of curiousity, do you really think that we crystal balls can tell the future?

Me: You'd better be able to tell the future...I paid 250,000 Baht for you.

Edited May 15, 2010 by elkangorito

[tw25rw]

Unless there's someone they want to prevent arriving, there's no reason for them to go near the airport like the yellow thugs did.

[tartempion]

I'm due in monday 24th around 07 am, hope we will meet then

[hughben]

Unless there's someone they want to prevent arriving, there's no reason for them to go near the airport like the yellow thugs did.

Well if they are desperate they will do anything.

If that means getting hundreds of taxi drivers to converge to the airport and block roads, then they will do it.

These are the same people allegedly firing grenades at people.