Latest from Bangkok Airport
Bangkok Airport is one step closer to being re-opened after Thailand’s Constitutional Court found the country’s government guilty of election fraud.
As a result, the three coalition political parties, including the Prime Minister and the entire cabinet, are to be dissolved and their members banned from politics for five years
“The condition by the anti-government protesters to re-open Bangkok’s airports is that the PM has to stand down,†said Andrew Wood, general manager of Chaophya Park Hotel and Resorts in Thailand.
“The courts have now made this mandatory.â€
He said if the protestors leave the airports they could re-open in seven days, allowing 250,000 stranded people to return home.
“However no-one is sure how the verdict will be reacted to by pro-government supporters,†said Wood, who is also president of Skal Int’l Bangkok and Skal Asian area-director of development.
In an open letter to the protestors, Wood pleaded with them to re-open the airport.
He said tomorrow his 400-room hotel will have an occupancy of only 7%.
“There are no new bookings. All the remaining guests just want to get home and return to their families and businesses. Some of my guests are deciding to take a bus journey of some 20 hours to go south by bus to Malaysia. A grueling and uncomfortable journey,” he said.
“By closing the airport you have cut the lifeline of so many. With close to 250,000 international visitors now stranded in Thailand, they have to endure hardship and discomfort never before experienced in the modern history of Thailand’s vital tourism industry.”
He urged the protestors to think about the effect they are having on friends and neighbors and the country.
“The industry that means so much to so many is in serious trouble,” he said.
“The industry has been battered from demonstrations back in September until now and the world economies are not strong. We live in a very fragile world and we have to be careful lest we cause irreparable damage.
“Please allow the airports to re-open and let the lifeblood of Thailand’s Tourism industry and businesses once again flow. Don’t leave it too late ….please.”
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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