Thai airports reopening after PM ousted by court

Thousands of jubilant protesters streamed out of the Suvarnabhumi international airport in cars and trucks, while others cleaned up the mess that had accumulated during their weeklong takeover. Similar scenes were witnessed at the domestic Don Muang airport.

"See you later when the country needs us!" one of them shouted while leaving, as other protesters waved and honked.

The departure of the People's Alliance for Democracy from the airport ended the country's immediate crisis, which had virtually severed Thailand's air links to the outside world for a week, and stranded more than 300,000 tourists.

The airport received its first commercial airliner - a flight by the national airline Thai Airways from the resort island of Phuket - at 2:15 p.m. (0715 GMT). It parked near a Thai Airways crew center, about 1 mile (2 kilometers) from the main building, where facilities including the docking bridge and baggage carousels were still not fully operational.

Thai Airways staff gathered on the tarmac applauded as the passengers came down the stairs from the aircraft. Taxis waited outside to drive them to the city.

Dale Northway, 34, from Manchester, England, said he was supposed to fly back to England on Nov. 29, but didn't mind the four-day delay.

"Phuket is a holiday destination, not a bad place to get stuck. It didn't even feel like being stuck," he said. However, he said he would have been upset had he missed his son's birthday on Dec. 10.

Taxi driver Chum Aaryaphom said he was happy to see the passengers. "The airport is about 30 percent of my business. I'm angry. (But) it's over so let's move on."

Six Thai Airways flights were scheduled to leave Suvarnabhumi later Wednesday for Sydney, New Delhi, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Seoul and Copenhagen.

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