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Monday, December 1, 2008
Phuket Airport director issues warning to PAD
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The scene at Phuket International Airport early this afternoon, as more and more airlines try to re-route flights there. Photo by Kamol Pirat.
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MAI KHAO: Phuket International Airport Director Wicha Nernlop is begging the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) to end its siege of Bangkok’s two commercial airports, saying the revenue lost already dwarfs the amount lost through corruption during the Thaksin years.
Speaking to the Gazette this afternoon, Mr Wicha said that the number of travelers stranded in Phuket has now reached 20,000.
With no end to the closures of the two airports in Bangkok in sight, many airlines – including Thai International Airways – are trying to re-route direct, international flights to and from Phuket.
Three airlines – KLM, Quantas and Air France – are ready to launch direct services from Phuket, he confirmed.
However, Phuket Airport is only capable of handling about 1,000 passengers per day. Apart from having insufficient fuel supplies, a host of other operational problems limit the number of flights the single-runway airport can service, he said.
Mr Wicha begged the PAD to reopen Suvarnabhumi Airport as soon as possible, saying the closure was tantamount to economic suicide.
Of the 20,000 tourists now stranded in Phuket, many are staying in hotels, with their bills being paid for with financial assistance from airlines and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in Thailand, he said.
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Phuket, Thailand
17:10
local time (GMT +7) |
Monday, December 1, 2008
Phuket PAD: ‘No plans’ to close airport
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These foreign tourists were lucky they brought a chess set with them – they certainly have plenty of time to play.
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THALANG: The Phuket branch of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has “no plans” to close down Phuket International Airport again, according to a spokesman.
The number of unscheduled flights in and out of Phuket has been increasing in recent days, with foreign governments arranging special flights for people stranded in Thailand by the closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang Airports in Bangkok by PAD protesters. Many have chosen to use Phuket Airport, normally the third busiest in Thailand, to get their citizens home.
Phuket PAD spokesman Natjarong Ekpermsup said some 1,000 Phuket-based PAD supporters are now at strategic locations in the capital, particularly the two airports.
His group, which goes by the name Phuket Watch, currently has no plans to close down Phuket Airport, he confirmed.
Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan earlier told reporters that the province was keeping a close watch on the movements of PAD supporters in Phuket.
Airports of Thailand (AOT), which runs Phuket Airport, beefed up security after a PAD protest at the airport resulted in a two-day closure in August.
After that incident was very poorly received by the island’s tourism industry, Phuket Watch held a press conference blaming the closure on an unnamed “third party”.
The Bangkok airport closures have also left an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Thais stranded abroad and flights are being arranged to get these people home.
The remains of one of the two Thais killed in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India last week were repatriated home to Phuket on a Silk Air flight from Mumbai that landed at Phuket Airport at about 2 pm today.
The woman was identified as Jirapat Kanchanawaree, a Phuket native in her mid-twenties who had been working in a hotel spa when it was attacked by terrorists. Her body was claimed by relatives at the airport.
The closure of the two airports in Bangkok has also crippled domestic air traffic, with longer-than-normal waits for flights to regional locations like Koh Samui.
AOT has arranged a special 800-baht bus service from Phuket airport to Bangkok and Chonburi to help people get off the island.
Some foreigners told the Gazette over the weekend that they had been waiting three days to get a flight out. Despite their obvious discomfort, they said they understood the situation in Thailand and the causes behind it.
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Phuket, Thailand
15:41
local time (GMT +7) |
Monday, December 1, 2008
Phuket to host Suzuki Cup
PHUKET CITY: Phuket has been designated as the new Thai venue for Group B play in the AFF Suzuki Cup. Formerly known as the Tiger Cup, the tournament is the biggest in Southeast Asia and the only regional football competition to feature senior squads of all Asean nations.
A spokesperson for the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) confirmed that Phuket will host matches on December 6, 8 and 10 at Surakul Stadium in Phuket City.
The FAT decided that Phuket is the best alternative due to the ongoing unrest and disruptions to air travel in Bangkok.
“There’s too much trouble in Bangkok, so we’ve decided to switch the venue,” Thai FA chief Worawi Makudi said. “All parties have agreed this is the best solution to the problem and Phuket is a very suitable alternative because it is not affected by the political situation. And Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos can all fly directly to Phuket International Airport."
Eight teams will compete for the AFF Suzuki Cup trophy and the US$100,000 in prize money. The top six seeded ASEAN nations, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, will be joined by qualifiers Laos and Cambodia to make up the final field of eight nations.
The competition consists of two group stages followed by semifinals and finals, which will be contested over two legs on a home and away basis.
Phuket will be playing host to Group B, which consists of Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos. Group A, which will be based in Jakarta, comprises Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar and Cambodia. The top two teams from each group will go on to the semifinals.
Surakul Stadium, which got a 38-million-baht upgrade to host the Fifa Women’s Under-19 Championship in 2004, has already been approved by Fifa, Mr Worawi said.
In the last AFF Suzuki Cup final in early 2007, Singapore won a heartbreaker with the winning goal coming in the 82nd minute of the second leg, played in front of a capacity crowd at Supachalasai Stadium in Bangkok.
This year, the Thai team, managed by former England international Peter Reid, will be strong favorites to win the title for a fourth time.
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Phuket, Thailand
14:03
local time (GMT +7) |
Monday, December 1, 2008
Car scam gang arrested
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The owner of a car rental agency near the airport points to Malaysian Abdul Rhani as the man who allegedly tried to swindle him.
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THALANG: Tah Chat Chai Police on November 25 arrested a six-member gang on charges including vehicle theft, receiving stolen goods and passport fraud.
The men, three Thai nationals and three foreigners, are alleged to have been involved in a scam in which fake passports were used to rent cars, which were then to be sold in Laos.
At around 2 pm that day, officers arrested Malaysian nationals Jonathan Raj and Abdul Rhani at a car rental shop near Phuket Airport. Both were carrying fake passports and driving Toyota Fortuners. Inside each vehicle police found 25,000 baht in cash.
The two men said they were acting under the orders of another Malaysian national, Mr Tan Tiong Hee, who they claimed supplied them with the fake passports.
They said they had used the passports to rent the cars, which they planned to drive to Laos to sell.
Police arrested Mr Tan when arrived at the rental shop later that day. He told police he had arranged to deliver the cars to other men in the car park of the Royal Phuket City Hotel.
At around 8 pm, police arrested the three Thai nationals, Banluesak Narin, Tanapol Daengchad and Karnpong Tappakiet in the hotel car park.
The three men denied the charges of receiving stolen goods, stating they had been paid 10,000 baht each by another man, who they named as Mr Wiroj (surname unknown), to drive the cars to Bangkok.
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Phuket, Thailand
12:04
local time (GMT +7) |
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Double homicide claims 20-year-old girls
KOH KAEW: Phuket City Police are searching for a man who shot and killed two young women on a motorbike early on Friday.
At about 2 am on November 28, Phuket City Police were notified that two women had been found murdered at the mouth of the access road to Laem Hin in Koh Kaew Village 7, Muang District.
Police officers, including Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong, rushed to the scene with Kusoldharm Foundation workers.
At the scene they found the body of one young lady lying in the middle of the road with a Phuket registered motorcycle on top of her. Nearby, the body of another young woman was found in a roadside drainage ditch. Both had been killed instantly from gunshot wounds to the head, fired from a 9mm weapon.
The first victim was identified as 20-year-old Praphasri Limpanon, a resident of Tambon Srisoonthorn Village 5. The other victim was later identified as Khansina Sanhaad, a 20-year-old resident of Pa Khlok.
A third woman who survived the attack said all three women were riding on a single motorbike on Thepkrasattri Rd southbound when a man on another motorbike began chasing them. They turned onto the road to Laem Hin in an attempt to escape, but the man overtook them and cut them off, forcing them to stop.
Once they had, he pulled out a pistol and shot Miss Praphasri, then Miss Khansina. The third woman, whose name was not reported, ran for her life and managed to escape as her assailant got back on his motorbike and sped off.
Police say they know the identity of the killer and are searching for him now.
One Thai language newspaper gave the name of the attacker, as identified by the woman who survived. She was quoted as saying he was a 37-year-old jilted former lover of Miss Praphasri.
The two homicides raise to ten the number of shooting murders in Phuket over the past three months.
Source: Manager Online
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Phuket, Thailand
12:18
local time (GMT +7) |
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Governor urges police to quash trade in sex, pirate goods
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Gov Preecha and top police brass at the "116 days from Mother's Day to Father's Day" national unity event on November 21.
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PHUKET CITY: Fearful that foreigners will view Phuket as a “sex tour” destination and center for trade in counterfeit goods, Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan has urged police to take a more serious approach in enforcing prostitution and intellectual property laws.
At the monthly meeting of the Provincial Committee for Social Stability held at Phuket Provincial Hall on November 27, Gov Preecha told fellow board members that a recent night tour of Patong Beach convinced him that trade in both sexual services and counterfeit goods was widespread and openly conducted there.
“Phuket is a world-class destination that attracts a great deal of tourists who come here to relax. I don’t want them to get the impression and spread the word around the world that Phuket is a sex tour destination like Pattaya,” he said.
In order to protect Phuket’s reputation, he asked police to do a better job at enforcing anti-prostitution laws – especially in Patong.
On the issue of intellectual property law violations, Gov Preecha told police the trade in counterfeit CDs and other pirated goods was widespread in Kata as well as Patong.
He urged police to take a more proactive approach by arresting violators without waiting for the copyright holders or their authorized representatives to turn up and request enforcement.
The crackdown should begin right away, he told police officers at the meeting.
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Phuket, Thailand
11:47
local time (GMT +7) |
Saturday, November 29, 2008
100,000 passengers miss flights in 3 days
BANGKOK: Nearly 100,000 passengers have missed flights since protesters shut down Bangkok's two main airports on Tuesday and the total could hit 300,000 as the shutdown continues, Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said yesterday.
"The total number could hit 300,000. When Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports are cleared, it will take 24 to 48 hours to verify aviation standards. It will take time to send people home," he said after a meeting with 14 airlines yesterday, including Japan Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines and EVA Air.
The ministry will set up an emergency centre to help stranded travelers, whose number is estimated to be about 30,000 a day.
Four hotels will be chosen for airlines to operate check-in counters, where passengers can reschedule flights and pick up new tickets and be transferred by coach to U-tapao International Airport, 190km southeast of Bangkok. The centres are expected to start operating in the next 48 to 72 hours, the minister said.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is to gather travelers' information. Those put in priority groups will be sent home first, while their baggage will be shipped on later flights.
The TAT's overseas offices have been instructed to slow down their activities promoting air trips even if the airports reopen soon. The offices are to focus more on trips on other transportation and encouraging more Thais to travel to compensate for the lower income from foreign travelers.
Weerasak said the ministry would host a discussion with representatives of the Customs Department, the Immigration Department and related private and government agencies over additional assistance measures.
Thai AirAsia chief executive officer Tassapon Bijleveld says he expects no more than 10 aircraft – belonging to Thai Airways International, Nok Air and Bangkok Airways – to operate from U-tapao, as most aircraft and equipment are locked up at the two airports and cannot be moved out. But U-tapao will be useful for incoming flights, he said.
"We have no power to bargain for the aircraft as the government itself could not," he said. He also urged airlines with aircraft to extend help to other airlines' stranded passengers, to restore Thailand's tarnished image.
Finnair is planning four more flights to Phuket to repatriate passengers stuck in Bangkok. For details, click here.
Patee Sarasin, CEO of Thai budget carrier Nok Air, expects the airport shutdowns to be extended. "This will affect our business plan next year, but I don't know how yet in the middle of chaos like this," he said.
– Nation/Gazette News Pool
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Phuket, Thailand
11:00
local time (GMT +7) |
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Advice for British citizens
PHUKET: Amid increased tensions this morning at Bangkok's two airports, both under seige and rendered inoperable by PAD protesters since Tuesday, the British Embassy has called for publication of the following information:
"For any British Citizens requiring assistance or advice, please telephone the British Embassy in Bangkok, 02 – 3058333, or, in case of extreme emergency, the British Honorary Councilor in Phuket, Mr Martin Carpenter MBE, on 089-8749080. For information regarding travel advisories, please refer to the British Embassy website http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en".
Nearly 100,000 passengers have missed flights since the airports were shut down 3 days ago, and it is estimated that the total could grow to 300,000 before the two facilities are back in operation.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports is setting up an emergency center to assist stranded travelers. Further details will be advised here later today.
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Phuket, Thailand
10:23
local time (GMT +7) |
Friday, November 28, 2008
Stranded tourists to receive hotel bill aid
PHUKET CITY: Tourists who have been unable to fly to Bangkok due to the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport are to receive discounted hotel bills, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Southern Region 4 Office Director Sathaphan Buddhani told the Gazette in an interview today.
Funding will come from the TAT, the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter) and the Phuket Tourist Association.
Mr Sathaphan said that he believed there are currently between 300 and 400 tourists in Phuket who will qualify for assistance.
To qualify, travelers will need to be able to show they had already booked tickets to fly out from Suvarnabhumi on a day after the airport was forcibly closed by anti-government protesters.
Tourists will need to remain in the hotel they were staying in the night before they were due to fly to qualify for the discount.
Travelers at high-end resorts who qualify will pay a flat 2,000 baht per day for one hotel room and three meals a day, for up to three days, assuming the bill would have totaled more than 2,000 baht.
Travelers whose bill for the same would have totaled 1,000 to 2,000 baht will only need to pay 1,000 baht per day.
Hotel room occupancy rates in Phuket have dropped from 80% to 65%, on average, since the airport closure, Mr Sathaphan added.
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Phuket, Thailand
17:29
local time (GMT +7) |
Friday, November 28, 2008
Coral Reef Squadron: 9 down, 1 to go
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Gov Preecha poses with Thai Dive Association (TDA) members after his dive at the Coral Reef Squadron project site yesterday. Photo courtesy TDA.
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BANG TAO: Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan yesterday went to personally inspect progress on the sinking of the “Coral Reef Squadron”, an artificial reef project being sunk about two kilometers off the coast at Bang Tao Bay.
Like many newcomers to Phuket, the new governor, who comes from landlocked Phichit province, is allocating some time here to learn how to dive.
Rainer Gottwald, President of the Thai Dive Association’s Technical Committee that is overseeing work, said everything is going according to schedule despite some strong currents and poor visibility at the project site.
After the submarine inspection, Gov Preecha gave interviews to the national and international press urging people not to cancel their holidays and to visit Phuket to catch a glimpse of the island's latest tourist attraction.
The sinking of the final Douglas C-47 Dakota Skytrain aircraft will take place tomorrow, when a big “grand opening” event is planned by the TDA, the For Sea Foundation, the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization and many other state and local government agencies.
A source at the Tourism Authority of Thailand Southern Region 4 Office said this afternoon that they cannot confirm whether or not Mr Weerasak will be able to attend
To learn more about the Coral Reef Squadron, see the front page story in tomorrow's Phuket Gazette.
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Phuket, Thailand
17:20
local time (GMT +7) |
Friday, November 28, 2008
King's Cup racing delayed
PHUKET: The King's Cup Organizing Committee has this afternoon announced a change in the racing schedule for this year's regatta. Racing will commence Tuesday, December 2 and will continue through to Saturday, December 6. There will be no lay day.
The delay in starting the regatta is to allow those held up by the Bangkok airport closures to reroute their flights into Phuket.
The organizers note that only the racing is affected. All parties and other activities will take place as scheduled, with the opening party on Sunday night, November 30, at Kata Beach Resort.
See the King's Cup website or call the regatta's 24-hour hotline on +66-(0)83- 551 1117 for more information.
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Phuket, Thailand
16:34
local time (GMT +7) |
Friday, November 28, 2008
Travelers stranded by Bangkok airport closures exempted from overstay fines
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Immigration Police Superintendent Chanatpol Yongbunjerd has confirmed that any travelers stranded in Thailand by the closure of Bangkok’s two airports will be exempted from paying overstay fines.
Immigration headquarters in Bangkok has instructed immigration officers nationwide to extend “special assistance” to stranded travelers, just as it did in the wake of the 2004 tsunami disaster, he said.
Such assistance includes not only waiving overstay fines, but helping tourists find accommodation, he added.
Foreigners with long overstays hoping to use the crisis to slip out of the country without paying a fine will be disappointed, however.
The overstay fee waiver will only be granted on a case-by-case basis to travelers able to prove that the airport closure was responsible for their delayed departure.
Travelers should be prepared to show documentary evidence, such as air tickets, to support their claims when leaving the country, he said.
Col Chanatpol said Phuket Airport Immigration and Customs expects an increase in the number of arrivals here as more planes scheduled to land at Suvarnabhumi Airport, especially direct flights from Malaysia and Singapore, touch down at Phuket Airport instead.
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Phuket, Thailand
12:47
local time (GMT +7) |
Friday, November 28, 2008
Tomorrow's Gazette on time despite airport closure
PHUKET: At a time when few major newspapers are available on the newsstands of Phuket, the Gazette will be out on schedule tomorrow morning, November 29, with all deliveries completed by 2pm – despite the shutdown of Bangkok's Suvarnaphumi airport and limited service out of Don Muang.
To ensure that our commitment to readers continues uninterrupted, a tradition started with our launch issue 16 years ago, the Gazette has made special arrangements with a major Phuket-based tour company to place tomorrow's issue on board a coach leaving Bangkok tonight, in good time for arrival here at 8am.
Our regular daily coverage of the drama unfolding in the nation's capital will continue on the Web. Check here for frequent updates prepared by Gazette reporter Atchaa Khamlo who has just returned to Phuket from Bangkok, where she was assigned to cover the drama at the airport and mingled shoulder to shoulder with the protesters as they implemented their "final battle".
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