Around 700 haj pilgrims, many elderly and frail but hoping to complete one of Islam's most important pillars of faith before they die, prepared to camp out for a third night in the terminal building at Suvarnabhumi airport.
'Some of them have saved all their lives for this,' said Mr Muhammed Yusouf, a haj tour guide accompanying the pilgrims, many of whom would be travelling by plane for the first time.
'If they miss this opportunity, they might not get a second chance.'
Members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) stormed the new, US$4 billion (S$ 6.03 billion) state-of-the-art airport on Tuesday, stepping up their fight to unseat the government.
Flights to and from the airport - as well as an older facility north of the capital - have been indefinitely suspended, leaving thousands of tourists stranded and causing untold damage to a central plank of the country's economy.
Mostly Buddhist Thailand has a sizeable Muslim population in the south, where a simmering insurgency has also had an impact on tourism and the economy.
But on Thursday the only concern for the stranded pilgrims was how they could make it to the Saudi city of Mecca, the birthplace of Islam, by Dec 2, the cut-off date for the haj.
Five pillars of Islam
Islam requires all able-bodied Muslims to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once if they can afford it. It is one of the five so-called pillars of Islam, which include the declaration of faith, praying five times a day, giving alms and fasting during Ramadam.
Most of the Thai pilgrims stranded at the airport were the beneficiaries of Muslim charity lotteries or savings clubs, which raise funds to send a fortunate few to Saudi Arabia every year.
With matching luggage lined up neatly in front of deserted check-in counters, the pilgrims sat chatting in small groups or sleeping, the men loosely separate from the women.
They appeared tired, but cheerful and friendly.
'It isn't too bad here,' Mr Yusouf told Reuters. 'Conditions are quite tough on the haj anyway, so we are just getting used to it. Actually I'm getting fat from all the food I'm eating.'
The PAD activists, who have unfurled banners apologising for the disruption they have caused but insist it is necessary to remove the government, have been supplying the pilgrims with regular meals and water.
'They are helping us, but at the same time they are responsible for us being here,' said Ms Noor, a teacher from Pattani.
'But the pilgrimage is a test of our faith, and this is a test of our faith.' -- REUTERS