Hundreds of Finns remain stuck in Bangkok

Finnair to fly some back from Phuket

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The Finnish airline Finnair plans to bring a planeload of passengers who have been stuck in the Thai capital Bangkok back to Finland from Phuket in the south of Thailand.
      The plane, carrying 280 passengers, is expected to land at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport late on Friday or early Saturday, says Finnair spokesman Christer Haglund.
      Because of the unrest in Thailand and the closure of the main airport of Bangkok, Finnair has had to cancel return flights from the capital, affecting a total of 1,500 passengers, about half of whom are Finns. Some of the passengers had Bangkok as a transit point, and they have been rerouted. However, hundreds of Finnair passengers were still waiting for a way to get back on Friday.
     
The unexpected extension of their stay in Bangkok can prove expensive to passengers who cannot get a flight out, because Finnair is paying for only one extra night in a hotel for their passengers.
      “Most airlines pay nothing at all. We have offered a hotel for one night as a goodwill gesture”, Haglund says.
      Thai officials said on Thursday that the main airport in Bangkok would be opened on Saturday evening. On Friday, Finnair cancelled its evening flight to Bangkok, but says that a flight might leave at about midnight Friday.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnair passengers still stranded in Bangkok (27.11.2008)
  Finnair Bangkok flight returns to Helsinki as nearly 400 Finns remain stuck in Thailand (26.11.2008)

Links:
  Finnair info: Situation at Bangkok International Airport and in Mumbai

Helsingin Sanomat