Chaos at Pattaya/U-Tapao airport, thousands try to fly!

[travelerjim]

As reported on Pattaya Daily News....

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownew ... 0000007917 (http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.php?IDNEWS=0000007917)

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/index.p ... goryID=001 (http://www.pattayadailynews.com/index.php?p=news&CategoryID=001)

SCENES OF CHAOS AS PATTAYAтАЩS U-TAPAO AIRPORT ARRANGES FLIGHTS FOR STRANDED TOURISTS
There were scenes of chaos today at U-tapao airport, a 45 minute drive from Pattaya, as thousands of stranded passengers awaited their flights home from Thailand.

On Saturday 29th November, PDN was at the scene where we witnessed an airport with a capacity of just 4000 passengers struggling to cope with more than 20000, according to estimates by a staff member of Thai Airways.

There was a 2 km long queue of traffic into the airport compound and we witnessed many passengers, worried about missing their flights, abandoning their transport and walking with their baggage the final kilometre in the afternoon sun. At the airport they were greeted with the sight of an enormous throng of people and baggage everywhere.

Thai Airways special notice website:
for special flight notices..
thanks to GB at GayThailand.com for this helpful info!

http://www.thaiairways.com/Homepage/ann ... uation.htm (http://www.thaiairways.com/Homepage/announce/sbia_situation.htm)

Thanks also to fountainhall at GayThailand.com
for this info from Cathay Pacific:

Cathay Pacific has started to send planes to U-Tapao to pick up passengers ticketed on CX.
The following is from their website this morning. It highlights the chaotic conditions at U-Tapao
and explains why checked baggae is a problem.

"Cathay Pacific will mount another special flight today to Utapao Airport, south of Bangkok,
to bring travellers stranded in Thailand back to Hong Kong.

"The airline is sending a 385-seat capacity Boeing 777-300 from Hong Kong International airport
in the morning at 09.30 Hong Kong time with scheduled arrival time at Utapao at 11.30 local time
to pick up passengers. The return flight is scheduled to depart from Utapao at 13.30 local time and
arrive Hong Kong at 17.30 Hong Kong time.

"The flight today is the third special flight the airline has mounted in three days to help passengers
stranded by the closure of Bangkok's two major airports.

"A Cathay Pacific spokesman said: We are trying our very best in very difficult circumstances
to bring home as many people as we can, and we will certainly try to do more if conditions in
Thailand allow us to do so.

"The spokesman reminded passengers that facilities at Utapao Airport, a military airstrip, were severely limited.

"Cathay Pacific appealed to passengers to be patient and understanding as staff at the airport were
working under very difficult conditions in manually processing ticketing and boarding. Staff have also
been working around the clock to cope with the situation.


------------------------------------

tj

[Smiles]

Is it possible for TravelerJim to get any more breathless than he has already regarding the intensely interesting shenanigans going on in Thailand right now? What with the the screaming list about Other Countries red-flagging Thailand, now we have CHAOS!!! all 'round, tourists on the verge of a Made-In-Thailand Mumbai-style massac'ring etc etc etc.

TJ comes on this Board hardly ever, except when he perceives the need to singlehandedly ochestrate a mass-evacuation of another corner of South East Asia.

What a waste of bandwidth ... though an excellent example of American kneejerk panic behavior , rather like a Walmart pre-Chrismas sale.

Cheers ...

[travelerjim]

Thanks Smiles...

I guess you are awake this Sunday afternoon and up to your best self again...
hope you are enjoying each day of your retirement and day in beautiful Hua Hin, Thailand.

Thanks for sharing the great pics and story recently about your bf ...
and happenings. Good to read them. Very enjoyable!

As for me, sadly, I missed the big Walmart sales...
and there were some great bargains too :-)

As for the chaos...I fear there is much more to come!

Regards,

tj

ps...also forgot to remind you...
you can use the "ignore" button, if you choose to not read my postings...
Up to You!

Thanks TJ. That IS the news I've been waiting all day for.

More below, I guess from the Irrawaddy via Google.

Sounds a bit chaotic in Sattahip but I wouldn't mind being in Pattaya just to have a better shot at that! My bag, btw, IS packed.

I know that other contries airlift in this way as well. Glad to see it but it looks a bit unprepared.

Maybe SMILEs jus don't trust TravellerJims with only one l.


Chaos reigns at Thailand's tourist airlift

1 hour ago

U-TAPAO, Thailand (AFP) — Not even the dancing girls provided by a local hotel could cheer thousands of travellers as they tried to flee protest-hit Thailand through this Vietnam-era airbase.

"This is my first time in Thailand and I probably won't come back," said Glen Squires, a 47-year-old tourist from England, casting a glum eye over the crowds.

"What they've done is shot themselves in the foot."

Since Friday, the U-Tapao naval base about 190 kilometres (118 miles) southeast of Bangkok has been the only way in or out of the country for tourists stranded by an anti-government blockade of the capital's main airports.

Travelers who arrived here found crowds of tired and angry passengers, armed guards, piles of garbage, mountains of luggage, and an increasingly tense and surreal atmosphere.

Built in the 1960s by the US air force and equipped with just one X-ray scanner for bags, the airbase can only handle around 40 flights a day, compared to the 700-flight capacity of Bangkok's gleaming Suvarnabhumi international airport.

But thanks to the demonstrations, it's all that Thailand has to offer.

"I think it's stupid," said Danny Mosaffi, 57, from New York City. "They have killed tourism in this country, the authorities should go do something. Nobody is going to come here."

Thai authorities say around 30,000 travellers a day -- both Thai and foreign -- have had flights cancelled since the occupation of Suvarnabhumi on Tuesday in what the protesters are calling their "final battle" against the government.

Some travel agents bussed passengers down to U-Tapao, which is near the tourist resort of Pattaya, but with information proving difficult to come by in Bangkok, others came on their own more in hope than expectation.

Huge traffic jams built up outside the sprawling compound. Thai soldiers with M16 rifles guarded the entrance to the airport to prevent anti-government protesters from gaining access, as travellers lugged their bags under the sun.

Once inside the terminal, it was standing room only. Travelers were unsure where they should check in. Long queues wound around the lone luggage scanner, where soldiers tried to hold back the surging crowd.

"It's complete chaos and pandemonium," said Bonnie Chan, 29, from San Diego, California.

"We've been given incorrect information from the airlines. The US embassy says they can't help us. We're high and dry. The airlines keep giving us the run-around."

With no departures board available, airline employees held up signs that said "Final boarding call, Moscow," while other staff stood inside the security area and pressed signs against a glass window calling for passengers to board a flight to Hong Kong.

At one point, a group of unruly passengers pushed their way through a door to the security screening area after an airport employee announced the final boarding call for a flight to Taipei.

One woman, caught in the surge, began to scream, and the soldiers forced the doors shut.

"We've treated six patients today," said Nan Soontornnon, 24, of Bangkok Hospital in Pattaya, standing with a doctor and nurse in a makeshift clinic.

"Passengers have had headaches, exhaustion, and other problems, like fainting. But this place has protection from the soldiers -- Suvarnabhumi doesn't," she said.

U-Tapao's only other selling point was when female employees from one enterprising Pattaya hotel, taking advantage of the captive audience, put on a traditional Thai dance performance.

The women later donned red and silver dresses with feather boas, singing: "You'll fall in love in Pattaya. There's no better place to be."

[Beachlover]

Is it possible for TravelerJim to get any more breathless than he has already regarding the intensely interesting shenanigans going on in Thailand right now? What with the the screaming list about Other Countries red-flagging Thailand, now we have CHAOS!!! all 'round, tourists on the verge of a Made-In-Thailand Mumbai-style massac'ring etc etc etc.

TJ comes on this Board hardly ever, except when he perceives the need to singlehandedly ochestrate a mass-evacuation of another corner of South East Asia.

What a waste of bandwidth ... though an excellent example of American kneejerk panic behavior , rather like a Walmart pre-Chrismas sale.

Cheers ...

ROFL... the sensationalisation gets annoying and is often misleading.

I have a suspicion he's just trying to post stuff that people look at so he can sell... insurance! (look at his signature)

Thai Air are pretty useless in this scenario, one would have thought the website would have given fairly indepth information, but no - just details of one flight and then a phone number.

[Sen Yai]

THAI have been making announcements and giving up-dates on a daily basis. You can read them all here:

www.thaiair.com/Homepage/announce/sbia_situation.htm (http://www.thaiair.com/Homepage/announce/sbia_situation.htm)

What more do you expect them to do?

[BenCH]

What more do you expect them to do?

... that they use background colours which make their tables readable ...

[anakot]

I was there to board a flight and of course was not able to
It was the biggest fuck up I have ever seen with thousands of angry tired miserable people trying to get out of this place.

Yes absolutely the BIGGEST FUCK UP I HAVE EVER SEEN. It is a wonder someone was not crushed to death in the interior of the terminal with several thousand people all try to get out.... and angry.

Only in Thailand.

Now back in BKK residing at the regime's expense. Long may it be so.

What's it like for inbound flights?

[Sen Yai]

What's it like for inbound flights?

Most have been cancelled

Details for refunds and re-scheduling can be found on individual country pages on THAI's website. Here's the page for UK: www.thaiairways.co.uk/ (http://www.thaiairways.co.uk/)

You can select the home-page for other coutries from the drop down menu at the top-right.

U-Tapao's only other selling point was when female employees from one enterprising Pattaya hotel, taking advantage of the captive audience, put on a traditional Thai dance performance.

The women later donned red and silver dresses with feather boas, singing: "You'll fall in love in Pattaya. There's no better place to be."

Women? They would be flattered - sounds like Tiffany's to me!

[Michael]

I've been waiting for EVA to cancel my inbound flight, departing London on Tuesday 2nd December. I'm surprised to see on their website that my flight has been re-routed to fly direct to Utapau.
Looks like I might be be joining the chaos after all!

I've been waiting for EVA to cancel my inbound flight, departing London on Tuesday 2nd December. I'm surprised to see on their website that my flight has been re-routed to fly direct to Utapau.
Looks like I might be be joining the chaos after all!

Hope it goes OK. Please keep us informed, as I'm hoping to fly with EVA at the weekend.

I've been waiting for EVA to cancel my inbound flight, departing London on Tuesday 2nd December. I'm surprised to see on their website that my flight has been re-routed to fly direct to Utapau.
Looks like I might be be joining the chaos after all!

Hope it goes OK. Please keep us informed, as I'm hoping to fly with EVA at the weekend.

When I created you I didn't expect you to be this stupid...

[jinks]

There is only 1 god on this site bye bye

[Bob]

There is only 1 god on this site bye bye

LOL....we're going to have to change the old adage to "the delete button is mightier than the sword..." And, of course, now you have us all wondering.....is it Spike or is it jinks?

(By the way, about f****ing time! :cheers: )

This cut and paste from Thai's site today.


We regret the disruption caused to our passengers at this time and will endeavour to give every assistance.

Thai Airways superb product more

As a member of Star Alliance, leisure and business class passengers benefit from access to the world's largest flight network. For more information on Star Alliance click here

[anakot]

"We don't give a stuff about you guys (our passengers) and we'll do something for you when we can get around to it, that is when it suits us... If you want to come to a place that is unstable then that is your problem and up to you. If you want to contact somebody that gives a damn then please click here {http//:www.getfucked.com.th}"

I've been waiting for EVA to cancel my inbound flight, departing London on Tuesday 2nd December. I'm surprised to see on their website that my flight has been re-routed to fly direct to Utapau.
Looks like I might be be joining the chaos after all!
Hope it goes OK. Please keep us informed, as I'm hoping to fly with EVA at the weekend.
When I created you I didn't expect you to be this stupid...

You may struggle to grasp the concept, but when participating in a forum with Thailand in the title, then you may find other members may well live in, or, frequently visit Thailand.
That's because it's been enjoyable on previous trips & is likely to be so this year.

Oh & try to learn how to write some more courteous posts, or you will end up on a lot of IGNORE lists.

[Dboy]

"We don't give a stuff about you guys (our passengers) and we'll do something for you when we can get around to it, that is when it suits us... If you want to come to a place that is unstable then that is your problem and up to you. If you want to contact somebody that gives a damn then please click here {http//:www.getfucked.com.th}"


Thai Air has been MUCH more helpful to me than American Airlines through my flight issues. I'm attempting an AA flight to Tokyo that theoretically connects to a Thai Air flight coming into U-Tapao. AA has been completely useless with information and assistance.

dboy

[Dboy]

I have been hearing rumors that passenger processing for U-Tapao flights are requiring a bus trip to Bangkok..is this true? Not sure if this is arrivals, departures, or both. Thanks for useful replies.

dboy

[bao-bao]

Some of the airlines were set up to do U Patao check ins in Bangkok at the Bangkok International Exhibition and Trade Centre (Bitec).

Hopefully this information is out of date by now since Suvarnabhumi is staggering back to life, but there is a link with a phone number at http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakin ... d=30089867 (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30089867)

They were running shuttle buses down to U Patao, but you had to be checking in 7 hours before departure, the article said.

Again, I hope the mess is over... for a while, anyway.

[Dboy]

Again, I hope the mess is over... for a while, anyway.

Hope so too. I am GO for liftoff:-) Thanks for the info.

dboy

[anakot]

Most of the major airlines are doing in town check in at BITEC. For some reason unexplained Cathay Pacific CX is not doing check in at BITEC. Instead it is at Utapao. Which means you have to get your arse down there by 9amish for a 2.30pmish flight. I have flight 'booked' from there tomorrow 5 Dec. Yesterday (Wed) I had a phone call from CX saying they are hoping that this flight will be rerouted to leave from SuvPM. I said that if it is not I will not be flying from Utapao.

Having been to Utapao once already (cost 2600 baht, 1 whole days travel and f**king around) and back I don't want to go again. I will continue to reside at the regime's expense making sure to charge up the full 2000 baht daily allowance...

As a back up I have booked on line leaving Mon first thing. So if CX comes thru with positive news today I wll be out tomorrow. Here's hoping.

What a pity that a this crowd can't get their act together in such a rich and fertile bit of the world

CX announced 7.45 this morning that it was resuming flights to BKK on Friday 5th. No more UTP