Bankok - Thousands of travellers were
left scrambling on Thursday when Thai Airways International
cancelled more than a dozen flights to and from Europe
after Pakistan closed its airspace amid rising tensions with
India.
Flights to and from London, Munich, Paris, Brussels, Milan,
Vienna, Stockholm, Zurich, Copenhagen, Oslo, Frankfurt and Rome
had been scheduled to fly over Pakistani airspace on Thursday,
Thai Airways said in a statement.
That left passengers scheduled to leave Thailand's main
Suvarnabhumi International Airport searching to find alternative
flights. Most of the airline's European flights leave after
midnight.
"Last night there were about 5,000 passengers who came to
check-in but unable to fly, mostly Thai Airways," Colonel Umnart
Chomshai, superintendent of tourism police at Suvarnabhumi
Airport, told Reuters.
Another airport official said a help centre had been set up
for stranded travellers.
Thai Airways said it would resume flights later on Thursday
after China granted permission to use its airspace for nearly a
dozen flights to Europe scheduled to leave on Thursday afternoon
and Friday morning.
However, it said all flights to and from Pakistan were
cancelled. The airline operates one flight a day to Karachi and
Lahore and four flights per week to Islamabad.
"YOU HAVE TO WAIT"
Swiss tourist Gerlinde Hoff, 60, stayed overnight at
Suvarnabhumi airport with her husband and they were still
waiting by midday to find another flight home.
"They only say 'you have to wait, you have to wait, you have
to wait,' she said. "I'm angry and I'm tired. It was such a nice
holiday and now it's a little bit not so nice."
Thailand is among the world's most popular tourist
destinations, receiving more than 38 million visitors last year,
about 6.8 million of them from Europe.
Pakistan closed its airspace after India and Pakistan both
claimed to have shot down the other's fighter jets on Wednesday,
with Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot a day after Indian
warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a 1971
war.
World powers have urged restraint between the two
nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours, who have fought two wars
over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Many airlines route flights over Pakistan and the closure of
its airspace caused major disruptions on Wednesday.
Emirates and Qatar Airways suspended flights to Pakistan and
others, such as Singapore Airlines and British
Airways, were forced to reroute flights.
On Thursday, Singapore Airlines said all of its Europe-bound
flights would now continue as planned, without the need for
refuelling stops, and they would reroute to avoid the affected
airspace as necessary.
Malaysia Airlines said on its website it was not currently
flying over the affected airspace and was avoiding Pakistan and
northern India for flights to and from Europe until further
notice.
Tensions have been running high since at least 40 Indian
paramilitary police were killed in a Feb. 14 suicide car bombing
claimed by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled
Kashmir.