BANGKOK - THE airport on Thailand's resort island of Phuket resumed flights on Sunday, two days after being forced to suspend operations by anti-government protesters, the airport director said.
Up to 15,000 passengers have been stranded at the airport on the southern resort isle - the gem of Thailand's tourism industry - after protesters stormed the runway and blockaded the entrances on Friday.
'The airport resumed operations at about 11am (12pm Singapore time),' said Vicha Neunlop, director of Phuket International Airport, Thailand's second busiest airport. Officials earlier said the airport would be closed indefinitely.
'The first flight will land soon. All services at the airport are back to normal. Protesters started leaving the airport (this morning) - there are not many left now,' he said.
A check on the Changi Airport website indicated that all flights between Singapore and Phuket have been cancelled.
A SilkAir statement said it will operate three return flights on Sunday evening to clear the backlog of passengers booked to travel from Singapore to Phuket and vice versa.
The airline had earlier said that it has cancelled all its Phuket flights on Aug 30 and 31.
Airports in Phuket, Krabi and Hat Yai were forced to close on Friday as protests that have brought chaos to Bangkok's government district spread to southern tourist spots.
'Krabi airport resumed normal service since early Sunday morning. The first flight from Bangkok has landed. There are no protesters left since the morning,' an airport official there told AFP.
Service at Hat Yai airport resumed on Saturday.
Thousands of protesters from the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have barricaded themselves in the grounds of Bangkok's main government compound, demanding Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej step down.
Over the weekend, Phuket's tourism authority and hotels' associations were scrambling to help stranded tourists by handing out room discounts and arranging buses out of the island for those who need to catch connecting flights from Bangkok.
The timing could not be worse for the popular tourist destination, which will soon head into its peak tourist season.
With most Europeans choosing country packages for the peak year-end travel season around now, Thai travel agents are worried that the protests may drive Phuket's customers to Bali or Vietnam instead.
Thailand's political troubles have already prompted South Korea to advise its nationals to avoid travelling to the country 'until calm returns'. -- AFP/REUTERS
