Flights ramp up as Thai airports reopen

Air service is slowly returning to Bangkok, Thailand, after anti-government protesters, satisfied with the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, today (Dec. 3) ended their weeklong occupation of the city’s two main airports, Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and Don Muang (DMK). But Suvarnabhumi was only partly open, and it may be two weeks before normal schedules resume. Expect delays and changes. Check with your carrier for details.

Here’s what some airlines were planning as of this afternoon:

Air France will add flights starting Thursday between Suvarnabhumi and the cities of Amsterdam and Paris. Passengers with tickets to Bangkok through Dec. 7 can make changes without penalty.

Bangkok Airways, which landed a jet at Suvarnabhumi today, will add 18 flights Thursday between Bangkok and Thai cities such as Chiang Mai and Phuket and several other Asian cities. Passengers departing Suvarnabhumi were being asked to check in at the airline’s head office, not the airport.

Cathay Pacific will resume service to Bangkok from Hong Kong on Friday.

Singapore Airlines and SilkAir had not yet posted information about when they would resume Bangkok service.

Taiwan’s Eva Air on Thursday will resume flights out of Suvarnabhumi, but on a modified schedule. You must check in at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center, not the airport.

Thai Airways today operated six outbound and five inbound flights to Suvarnabhumi to cities in Asia and Europe. On Thursday it will resume operations at Don Muang airport with 20 domestic flights. For details, check its updates page.

— Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor

[Photo: Protesters cheer after ending their occupation of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport. Credit:  Paula Bronstein / Getty Images.]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 4:31 pm by Jane Engle and is filed under Airline travel, Asia, Business Travel, Global, Luxury Travel, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.