PAD- Take Two

A couple of friends had planned a beach getaway this long weekend to Phuket, leaving Friday night, returning Monday evening. Only they never made it out. They went to the airport on Friday and was told their flight was canceled and to please go back to the airport for the early Saturday morning flight.

Reason: Runways were blocked in Phuket.

They went to the airport at the crack of dawn, waited, and waited. Was told to check back at 7am. 7:30am. 7:45am. 8:00am. 8:30am. Until finally, they got the bare basics from the airline official: they won't get an update from Phuket airport until 6pm.

Another major difference here in Thailand: the girls were issued full refunds from both airline and hotel. Tell me American or United Airlines would do that.

International flights do not seem to be impacted. Yet. Although, my personal prediction tells me that the more damage the protests do to the tourist industry, the more likely there will be some intervention coming in given how crucial tourism is to the local economy.