UAE | General
Etihad plans special flights from Thailand
Hundreds of passengers stranded in Thailand will be flown to Abu Dhabi by special relief flights, the first of which will arrive early this morning, a senior Etihad Airways official told Gulf News.
- By Dr Abdul-Hadi Al-Timimi, Abu Dhabi Editor
- Published: 23:24 November 28, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Hundreds of passengers stranded in Thailand will be flown to Abu Dhabi by special relief flights, the first of which will arrive early this morning, a senior Etihad Airways official told Gulf News.
"The flights have been set up specially to assist passengers stranded in Thailand after the closure of the country's major airports in Bangkok," said Ann Tulis, manager of Etihad Corporate Communications.
Etihad will operate a Boeing 777 with a capacity of 378 passengers from U-Tapao International Airport, about 150km east of Bangkok.
"We have not yet managed to calculate the number of stranded passengers, but we have secured permission to operate the flights," the Etihad official said. "The plan depends on the availability of the aircraft, the availability of landing slots and the situation in Thailand itself."
The Etihad Boeing 777 flew to U-Tapao International Airport at 2pm yesterday.
Monitored
Tulis said the majority of the stranded passengers were European or Thai nationals. She explained that the situation was being monitored closely to determine how many relief flights would be required.
It was possible that Suvarnabhumi Airport would become operational once more as the political situation returned to normal, she added.
The airline has been operating a double daily service to the Bangkok airport but was forced to suspend its flights on Wednesday evening after opposition demonstrators occupied the main international airport in Bangkok to demand the prime minister's resignation.
Tulis said that the airline's flights to and from Thailand normally enjoyed occupancy rates as high as 80 per cent.
Meanwhile, Emirates said in a statement that its flights to and from Thailand had been cancelled as a result of the events in Bangkok.
Flights to Hong Kong via Bangkok had also been cancelled and passengers bound for the city had been booked on alternative flights, Emirates said.
Affected passengers can choose to travel via other airports at which Emirates operates in the vicinity of Bangkok. Options include Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Hong Kong.
Re-booking or re-issue charges will be waived, and the fare paid to and from Bangkok will be honoured for travel to and from the alternative airports.
Temporary
This re-routing is subject to seat availability and will be permitted until Emirates' normal operations resume at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Passengers to and from Bangkok who do not wish to re-route will be re-booked on the first available flight when the airport re-opens, the statement said.
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