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, some by utilizing a tiny airport southeast of the capital.
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 Mr 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, Herdman said. 'That's a lot of inconvenience for a lot of people,' he said.
Thai International Airways PCL, losing US$14 million (S$21.1 million) in revenue a day with its fleet parked on the tarmac, said on Friday it would try to operate flights from U-tapao airport, near the resort town of Pattaya, about 190 kilometers south-east 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.
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways 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 on 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 South-east Asia's second-biggest economy - an important manufacturing hub for automakers like Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Corp.
Tourism officials and economists says the tourism industry's losses over the remainder of the year will balloon to about 150 billion baht (S$6.3 billion), equal to 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product, with 2 million or more travelers 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.
Mr Vichai Assarasakorn, president of the Thai Gem & Jewelry Traders Association, said the jewelry industry faces export losses of US$500 million a month if shipments of finished jewelry and loose gem stones to Europe, the US, 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 US 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 on 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, the country's largest carrier, 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. -- AP