Finnair Bangkok flight returns to Helsinki as nearly 400 Finns remain stuck in Thailand
Anti-government protest leads to evacuation of Suvarnabhumi Airport
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A Finnair flight from the Thai capital Bangkok arrived in Helsinki at 8:35 in the morning on Wednesday. The departure from Bangkok was delayed by nearly three hours by anti-government protests which focussed on the city’s international airport.
The aim of the protesters was to confront Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat when he returns from the Asia-Pacific summit in Peru.
The airport was closed to traffic early Tuesday evening because of the protests; the Finnair flight was one of the few that were allowed to take off.
The departure of the Finnair plane was delayed by the situation at the airport, and by the fact that the crew was having trouble getting to the airport on time because of traffic jams caused by the protests.
In addition to those with tickets to Helsinki, about 100 passengers with destinations elsewhere in Europe took the Finnair flight. Some of the booked passengers were also stuck in traffic, and missed the flight.
Tuesday evening’s Finnair flight from Helsinki to Bangkok was cancelled, which means that the 270 passengers booked for the return flight are stuck in Bangkok. Currently there are nearly 400 Finnair passengers in Thailand waiting for news of when they can come back.
On Wednesday, local police began evacuating waiting passengers from the airport.
Finnish free-lance journalist Timo Kuronen, who lives in Thailand, told Helsingin Sanomat that the more than 3,000 passengers stuck at the airport are being moved to hotels.
Earlier, demonstrators had managed to break into the airport’s control tower, and local television channels reported that an explosion had taken place early in the morning.
According to the reports, a grenade had been thrown at the crowd of protesters, and three people were injured.
Janus Putkonen, a Finn living in Thailand, Helsingin Sanomat that several shots were fired into the crowd about an hour and a half after the grenade attack. However, other reports suggested that fireworks might have been the cause.
The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs issued a warning to travellers Tuesday night about a terror threat in Thailand.
According to the advisory, there is a danger in more southerly provinces, and destinations favoured by Western tourists. Travellers were especially instructed to avoid large crowds.
Finnair spokeswoman Hanna-Kaisa Nurmi does not expect the airport to remain closed very long. “The Thai people themselves understand that tourism is an important source of income for them. I do not think that the demonstrations are aimed at the travellers.”
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 26.11.2008 - TODAY |
 Finnair Bangkok flight returns to Helsinki as nearly 400 Finns remain stuck in Thailand |
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