SINGAPOREAN Sally Chua was having breakfast in her Bangkok hotel yesterday morning when she got word that, after three days, her company had finally arranged a back-door exit for her from the protest-wracked Thai capital.

The 38-year-old manager had all of five minutes to pack her bags and catch a bus bound for the seaside town of Pattaya, 140km away.

There, joined by dozens of other stranded foreign nationals, she boarded a charter plane to Kuala Lumpur, leaving behind a country paralysed by anti-government protests.

'The whole situation was very refugee-like,' said Ms Chua, who arrived in Singapore last night. 'It's good to be back after all the chaos.'

She is among dozens of Singaporeans who are trickling home in the wake of massive protests that forced Thai officials to close Bangkok's two airports earlier this week.

The closures have thrown the city into chaos, marooning thousands and leaving travellers scrounging for ways out of the country.

Some Singaporeans like Ms Chua headed to Pattaya to catch outbound flights. Others have been forced further afield, travelling hundreds of kilometres overland into southern Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and even Vietnam.

A group of 55 Singaporeans, made up of SAF Yacht Club members and their families, are on their way back to Singapore. They are travelling in two buses that will take them to Hat Yai, and then through Malaysia back to Singapore. They are expected to arrive home today.

Meanwhile, airlines that have seen their Bangkok flights cancelled are adding trips to other Thai cities, including Phuket and Chiang Mai.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is now operating out of Pattaya. A spokesman said the move is expected to relieve some of the pressure but the airport cannot accommodate all the stranded travellers.

Low-cost carrier Jetstar has started twice-daily flights from Pattaya. Its first plane was scheduled to land last night at around midnight.

SIA is running extra flights out of Phuket on its subsidiary SilkAir. It is also allowing passengers with Bangkok tickets to fly from the resort town and Chiang Mai.

Tiger Airways, which has had nine flights out of Bangkok cancelled so far, is scheduling extra flights out of Phuket to Singapore tonight and tomorrow night.

Its chief executive, Mr Tony Davis, said: 'Until we get confirmation from the airport authorities in Thailand, there is very little any of the airlines can actually do other than be prepared to operate as soon as the airport re-opens for service.'

AirAsia said in a media release yesterday that it had provided an extra flight last night out of Pattaya to Kuala Lumpur and will have another one today.

Airlines advised passengers to check their respective websites for updates or to call their hotline numbers.