EXPAT GROUP OFFERS TRAVEL ARRANGEMENT AS AIRPORT CLOSURE LIKELY TO PROLONG

BANGKOK, Dec 2 (Bernama) -- Thaivisa.com, Thailand's biggest expat forum, has joined the band wagon to assist thousands of stranded passengers by offering travel arrangements as there is still no solution in sight to the closure of Bangkok's two airports.

Thaivisa.com told its online registered members that they could send emails
providing their travel details so that it could assist them through Thaivisa
Expat Repatriation Assistance with the major airlines networks.

According to the forum administrators, the closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don
Muang airports could last at least another seven days.

"We are able to assist with re-routing or issuance of a new tickets to get
you to your destination," it said. There are more than 100,000 expatriats
working and residing in the kingdom.

The government looked helpless as anti-government forces continued to
occupy
the two airports, and the airports will probably remain closed for a longer
period after the leaders asked their supporters to move from the Government
House, which they had been occupying since Aug 26, to reinforce their presence
at the two airports.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) had told its followers at the
site
which used to be the Prime Minister's Office to move to the airports as the
Government House was becoming more and more dangerous due to constant grenade
attacks, with the latest one being on Sunday, which injured 51 people.

As the airport closureS have stranded thousands of foreign travellers, the
Thai authorities have opened the Utapao Airport near Pattaya but it could not
accommodate large number of passengers due to lack of facilities.

Passengers have been told to check-in seven hours before departure time as
they need to travel two-and-a-half hours to Utapao.