Bangkok airports shutdown ripples through region

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BANGKOK — The severing of air links with Thailand's capital — a vital air hub that handles 3 percent of world air cargo and 100,000 travelers a day — rippled through the region with airlines scrambling to reroute passengers and freight as hopes for a quick resolution to the crisis faded.

Thailand's embattled government Friday backed away from a threat to use force to disperse the protesters who have shut down Bangkok's two commercial airports, setting the scene for a prolonged disruption to transport across the region and a massive blow to the kingdom's economy.

Since Tuesday, dozens of airlines have canceled all flights to and from Bangkok until further notice while others made special arrangements to rescue passengers stranded in Thailand by using a tiny airport southeast of the capital.

"What's happening in Bangkok is going to be very damaging to our business," said Tony Tyler, chief executive of Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., which has two Boeing 777s stranded in Bangkok.

"But more importantly, it's going to be very damaging to the tourism development of Thailand, which of course is very important for that country and the airlines serving it," Tyler told reporters in Hong Kong. The overall impact will last longer than "just the immediate closure of the airport."

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, the main gateway to Thailand, is one of the world's most "densely connected" airports, serving about 100 airlines with flights to 184 cities in 68 countries, said Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.

"The biggest impact is on Thai Airways. Their hub is shut and crippling their operations," said Herdman, whose association's 17 member airlines carry 33 percent of global air cargo and 18 percent of passengers. "The ripple effect for other Asian carriers in terms of rerouting passengers and cargo causes a significant knock-on disruption."

On a normal day, about 100,000 passengers pass through Suvarnabhumi. "That's a lot of inconvenience for a lot of people," he said.

Thai International Airways PCL, losing $14 million in revenue a day with its fleet parked on the tarmac, said Friday it would try to operate flights from U-tapao airport, near the resort town of Pattaya, about 190 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Bangkok.

But it was unlikely the tiny airport could handle more than a trickle of extra passengers. U-tapao airport's parking lot has room for just 100 vehicles and its terminal can accommodate only 400 people at once, according to its Web site.

Cathay Pacific has scheduled two flights on Friday and Saturday from U-tapao airport to bring home Hong Kong residents, said spokeswoman Carolyn Leung. Air Macao and Malaysia's AirAsia are also planning rescue flights to U-tapao.

Suvarnabhumi airport grounded all flights after protesters took over terminals Tuesday in an attempt to unseat Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's government, which they claim is a puppet for ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. It was the latest escalation in a sometimes violent four-month campaign by protesters to bring down the government.

On Wednesday night, protesters overran a second smaller airport that mainly serves domestic routes, cutting off all commercial flights to the capital of Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy — an important manufacturing hub for automakers like Toyota Motor Corp., which said so far it had no shortages of parts supplies.

Tourism officials and economists project the tourism industry's losses over the remainder of the year will balloon to about 150 billion baht ($4.2 billion), equal to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, with 2 million or more travelers likely canceling their plans.

Exporters in Thailand are aghast at the rapidly mounting costs of lost trade, estimated by the Federation of Thai Industries at 2 billion to 3 billion baht a day ($57 million to $85 million).

Vichai Assarasakorn, president of the Thai Gem & Jewelry Traders Association, said the jewelry industry faces export losses of $500 million a month if shipments of finished jewelry and loose gem stones to Europe, the U.S., Japan and other countries aren't resumed.

"We are facing a double crisis. Sales for December-January were already expected to be lower because of the U.S. liquidity problems," he said. "Now customers have orders stuck at the airport. If they can't be shipped, orders will be canceled."

Thai Airways said it will arrange special flights for hundreds of Thai Muslims whose plans to go to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca — a once-in-a-lifetime event for most Muslims — have been disrupted by the airport chaos.

One flight with about 250 pilgrims will depart Friday from Hat Yai airport in the country's Muslim-majority south, said Thai Airways Executive Vice President Narongsak Sangapong. Monday is the last day they can arrive in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj.

Singapore Airlines' six daily flights to Bangkok remained suspended for a third day and the airline said it would waive any cancellation and rebooking fees for customers who lost flights.

Japan Airlines has canceled all five daily flights between Bangkok and three Japanese cities, including Tokyo, since Wednesday, which so far has affected more than 6,100 people. Most passengers stuck in Bangkok are still standing by with reservations at later dates.

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Associated Press writers Michael Casey and Busaba Sivasomboon in Bangkok, Dikky Sinn and Min Lee in Hong Kong, Mari Yamaguchi in Toyko and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

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