BANGKOK – Flights are taking place out of U-Tapao but are not sufficient to get all the stranded tourists out from Bangkok. The airport is designed to handle only a few flights daily or an estimated 15,000 passengers compared to Suvarnabhumi airport that can handle 60,000 to 70,000 people daily.
Countries like China and Spain are chartering flights to fly their citizens back. For the others there are airlines such as SIA with twice-daily flights from U-Tapao to Singapore.
SilkAir has mounted two additional flights from Phuket, and three flights from Tiger Airways. For Jetstar Asia there are two flights from U-Tapao to Singapore scheduled today and three flights tomorrow. And AirAsia flies out of U-Tapao to Kuala Lumpur, once today and once tomorrow.
Frustrated governments have also urged the Thai authorities to provide extra flights out and accommodation for the stranded foreigners.
