นสพ.คอม - Hubbub of trouble

<body> <h1>Hubbub of trouble</h1> <p> BREAKING NEWS >> Wednesday December 03, 2008 05:15Hospitals to service stranded tourists without chargeCourt dissolves PPP, Chart Thai, MatchimathipatayaThe seizure of Bangkok s two airports and an air control tower by supporters of the People s Alliance for Democracy raises a serious question about the security of Thailand s main aviation infrastructure and the gateway to the Kingdom. Airport and airline officials as well as hired security guards simply melted away, pulling down the shutters and abandoning their posts at the approach of PAD members, some of whom carried sticks and baseball bats. Clearly, the airports security was blatantly breached and the chaotic scenes beamed into homes around the globe have informed the world that our airports are unsafe. Those images will certainly take a very long time to fade away. The fact that even bare-handed demonstrators can lay siege to top security establishments also informs terrorists how easy it would be to carry out their evil missions in Thailand. The confidence in Thailand s safety has been shattered, and will take a very long time to rebuild. After the PAD supporters finally retreat, some 70 airlines which operate through the 155-billion-baht Suvarnabhumi Airport will have to seriously reassess the security risk factor and ask themselves whether they still want to resume operations through Thai airports and be exposed to insecurity. Many passengers going through Suvarnabhumi, the majority of them tourists, have become angry, annoyed and even felt threatened. They are likely to choose other holiday destinations next time. It can easily be anticipated that many of those discretionary travellers may never come back to Thailand at all and potential newcomers will decide to go elsewhere. The dream of making Bangkok the aviation hub of Southeast Asia has been shattered, and the Airports of Thailand Plc s aspiration to make Suvarnabhumi, which was opened in September 2006, among the top 10 international airports in the world next year, is now laughable. It is not difficult to understand why several international airlines will shift their regional operations away from Suvarnabhumi to rival airports like Singapore s Changi Airport or Kuala Lumpur International, where security and safety have not been an issue, let alone being more efficient while providing economic incentives in terms of lower airport service payments. This shameful and disastrous turn of events will only serve to chase airlines, which have played a pivotal role in spinning Thailand s economic wheels, away quicker than they otherwise might have. Air traffic through Thailand looks set to slump anyway because of the faster-than-expected deterioration in the global economy. The PAD s tactic of closing airports to press its political agenda is not unprecedented; in fact just three months ago the PAD s supporters blockaded the airports in Phuket, Hat Yai and Krabi, wreaking havoc on the southern tourism industry. But this time around, the seizure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang will have far more disastrous effects than they may - or may not - have imagined. Obviously, the government and authorities failed to learn anything from the previous senseless and embarrassing blockades, having failed completely to come up with any measures to tackle such an untoward political problem which served only to underscore the fact that Thailand s airports are unsafe. The government, PAD and the armed forces have been busy playing their own games and have been insincere in unlocking the political stalemate which continues to devastate the country economically and politically. The PAD has succeeded in taking our economy hostage, forcing Thailand to pay massively for its political agenda. The confidence in Thailand s safety has been shattered, and will certainly take a very long time to rebuild.Security and safety issues at Thai airports need swift and drastic reform to reach the same standards adopted by airports in more civilised countries, if Thailand wants to rebuild its travel industry in particular and the economy in general. We cannot afford to allow any more airport seizures. </p> </body>