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Title : Travel plans on hold as six more Phuket-bound flights cancelled
By :
Date : 30 August 2008 2307 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/372794/1/.html

SINGAPORE: Six flights bound for Phuket from Singapore were cancelled on Saturday as the Thai airport remains closed after protesters stormed it on Friday.

And SilkAir said some 600 of its passengers remain stranded at the popular beach resort.

A day after anti-government protesters began camping out on the tarmac, Phuket airport authorities said more than 100 flights have been cancelled, including 25 on international routes, leaving 15,000 passengers stranded.

Thailand closed three airports at the beach resorts of Phuket, Krabi and Hat Yai on Friday after protesters stormed the Phuket International Airport.

The airport protests came as thousands of activists laid siege to government offices in Bangkok, calling for Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to resign.

Rail travel in the country has also been disrupted.

In Singapore, some passengers are now unsure about their travel plans.

Sherine Perera, a Singaporean traveller, said: "Tonight I need to think about it and I will talk to my office colleagues....if they decide to go, I will go. Otherwise, I will not go. This trip (we'll) just cancel it."

Another Singaporean traveller, Tan Kai Earl, said: "We may want to cancel our trip, because we have kids, and if it's dangerous or unstable, we won't go now."

Questions abound as foreign tourists realise their beach holiday is not going to turn out as planned.

Vijaykumar Agarwal, a tourist from Kolkatta, said: "They have only given us accommodation for one day and if the flight doesn't take off tomorrow, then we are left on our own and we have to look for accommodation (and pay from) our own pocket."

Tiger Airways, which flies once a day to Phuket, says it has offered its passengers flying from Singapore a choice of a full refund or a change in travel dates.

- CNA/ir





Tourists stranded in Phuket as Thai protests blockade airport
Thai PM consults king over escalating protests
Closure of Phuket, Hat Yai, Krabi airports affect flights from S'pore
Witness says Thai police fire tear gas at protesters


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