Cut and paste from breaking news

December 4, 2008 - 1528 thai Time


Thousands of relieved travellers streamed from Bangkok's airports Thursday after an eight day siege, as Thailand's deeply revered king was set to address the nation on the eve of his 81st birthday.

With turmoil still brewing despite the end of the anti-government airport protests, authorities said that Bangkok's main international airport would be fully operational by Friday in a sign that some normality was returning.

More than 100 flights were set to operate from Suvarnabhumi Airport a day after demonstrators abandoned their siege in the wake of a court ruling that disbanded the ruling party and toppled the prime minister.

"We have set 11 am (0400 GMT) on Friday as the time we will return to normal operations at Suvarnabhumi," after international and domestic aviation officials have inspected it, said a spokeswoman for the Thai airports agency.

Around 350,000 passengers were stranded in Thailand after protesters seized Suvarnabhumi on November 25.

Suvarnabhumi would handle 65 inbound and 36 outbound flights on Thursday, mostly by flag carrier Thai Airways and private Bangkok Airways, the agency said.

China Airlines and Japan Airlines would also operate, it said. Singapore Airlines and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific said they would resume Bangkok flights on Friday.

Outbound passengers were still checking in at a downtown Bangkok conference centre or at airline offices while systems checks were under way, the spokeswoman said.

"But inbound passengers are being fully processed through customs and immigration at Suvarnabhumi," she said.

The smaller Don Mueang domestic airport, which was also occupied by protesters, meanwhile quickly returned to full operations on Thursday with 56 flights taking off and landing on Thursday.

"The situation has returned to normal now," said airport director Anirut Thanomkulbutra.

The royalist People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) handed over control of both airports on Wednesday, claiming victory over ousted premier Somchai Wongsawat.

Somchai was barred from politics for five years on Tuesday by Thailand's constitutional court, which also abolished the ruling People Power Party and two of its coalition parties.

But coalition members have vowed to regroup under new names and simply re-form the government, since they still have a majority. They are set to choose a successor to Somchai on Monday or Tuesday.

The PAD has warned that it will restart protests if the new premier is too close to Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled former premier who was ousted in a military coup in 2006. Somchai is Thaksin's brother-in-law.

The movement, which draws support from the urban elite and middle classes with backing from the military, palace and business sector, said the goverment had also tried to harm the monarchy.

Amid the turmoil many Thais were looking to a birthday-eve speech due some time after 0900 GMT by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is revered as semi-divine in the Buddhist country.

King Bhumibol has over the decades cultivated an image as a constitutional monarch above political tussles, only wading into politics in the 1970s and in 1992, when he ordered military dictatorships to end bloody crackdowns.

The only indication of his recent views came in April 2006 after the first round of PAD protests, when the king gave a rare address implying that recent elections which had swept Thaksin to power were undemocratic.

┬й 2008 AFP
This story is sourced direct from an overseas news agency as an additional service to readers. Spelling follows North American usage, along with foreign currency and measurement units.

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