Thai Airways hope to clear backlog of stranded passengers over weekend
PHOTOS: EPA-EFE
Around 2,000 passengers were still stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday as the national airline struggled to clear the backlog caused by Pakistan closing its airspace due to rising tensions with India.
Thai Airways has been trying to transport the stranded passengers to their destinations ‘as quickly as possible’ according to Thai Airways president Sumeth Damrongchaitham.
More than 4,000 passengers were stranded at the airport on Wednesday after the closure of Pakistan’s airspace. This resulted in almost 40 inbound and outbound flights being cancelled. The flights were either heading to or returning from Europe and Pakistan.
On Thursday afternoon Thai Airways announced they were re-routing flights over Chinese airspace.
Sumeth says that Thai Airways will complete the transportation of any remaining passengers through alternative flights within two days. The airline arranged two special flights to accommodate 1,512 passengers yesterday.
The first flight, TG9169 on the Bangkok-London route, departed Bangkok at 1.11pm and is expected to arrive in London at 7.40pm (local time). The return flight TG9179 is scheduled to depart London at 9pm (local time) and should arrive in Bangkok at 3.25pm on the following day.
The second flight, TG9749 on the Bangkok-Moscow route, left Bangkok at 4.39pm and is expected to arrive in Moscow at 10.58pm (local time). The return flight is scheduled to depart Moscow at midnight (local time) and will arrive in Bangkok at noon the following day.
Meanwhile, Thai Airways ground staff has set up service areas at Suvarnabhumi for stranded passengers, where refreshments are available and airline staff at hand to provide information and assistance.
The service areas are located in the departure zone on the fourth floor of Suvarnabhumi Airport, at the Thai Airways ticketing office, the Royal Silk lounge for first-class and business class passengers as well as for holders of Royal Orchid Plus, Star Alliance gold and platinum cards.
Economy passengers can also visit the service centre between the premium area and check in rows H and J.
Passengers can also seek further assistance at the following counters…
Counters A15-18 for flight information
Counter A19 for reservation
Counters B7-B9 for check-in and ticketing services for special flights during the day.
Thai Airways advises passengers to check the airline’s announcements on its website, thaiairways.com, to keep up with the latest announcements.
Passengers can also call +66 2356 1111 any time of the day or night for information on flight schedules.
SOURCE: The Nation | Thai Airways
