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| Extra planes for stranded Britons | Extra planes for stranded Britons |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Thousands of UK tourists stranded in Thailand are hoping extra flights will finally help them return home. | |
| Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell said major airlines, including Qantas and Emirates, were laying on additional flights with UK government support. | |
| Up to 300,000 people are stuck in Thailand, with Bangkok's main airport, Suvarnabhumi, closed until Wednesday. | |
| Anti-government protestors are on the eighth day of a blockade, while a top Thai court has banned the ruling party. | |
| Amid an escalating political crisis in the country, Thailand's constitutional court dissolved the governing People Power Party and two of its coalition partners for fraud during the last election. | |
| An anti-government protester has also been killed and 22 others injured in an explosion at Bangkok's domestic airport, Don Mueang, as the People's Alliance for Democracy's protest continues in its second week. | |
| 'Defuse unrest' | 'Defuse unrest' |
| In a statement released by the Foreign Office, Mr Rammell said the British government was working with international partners "to support efforts to defuse the unrest in Thailand". | |
| "Several thousand British travellers remain stranded in Bangkok. Our priorities are to ensure their immediate welfare and to find ways of ending their uncertainty and helping them get home. | "Several thousand British travellers remain stranded in Bangkok. Our priorities are to ensure their immediate welfare and to find ways of ending their uncertainty and helping them get home. |
| "The only way such large numbers of people can leave Bangkok for their homes is through co-operation between governments, airlines and tour providers: we need a systematic approach not a symbolic one." | "The only way such large numbers of people can leave Bangkok for their homes is through co-operation between governments, airlines and tour providers: we need a systematic approach not a symbolic one." |
| Gulf Air, Malaysian Airways, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific and Silk Airways are also expected to provide additional flights, mainly out of Phuket, he said. | Gulf Air, Malaysian Airways, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific and Silk Airways are also expected to provide additional flights, mainly out of Phuket, he said. |
| We are stuck here without a hope but all the Germans have got home already, the last went on Saturday Neil Lindsay | We are stuck here without a hope but all the Germans have got home already, the last went on Saturday Neil Lindsay |
| British Embassy staff are paying regular visits to those stranded, offering consular assistance including transferring money from the UK and getting extra supplies of prescription medicine. | British Embassy staff are paying regular visits to those stranded, offering consular assistance including transferring money from the UK and getting extra supplies of prescription medicine. |
| However, stranded British holidaymakers have complained of being deserted by embassy officials while tourists of other nationalities were being flown home, the Daily Telegraph reported. | However, stranded British holidaymakers have complained of being deserted by embassy officials while tourists of other nationalities were being flown home, the Daily Telegraph reported. |
| Photographer Neil Lindsay, 53, from Wadebridge in Cornwall, was among 121 Britons of 1,200 Thai Airways passengers moved to a hotel near U-Tapao airfield. | Photographer Neil Lindsay, 53, from Wadebridge in Cornwall, was among 121 Britons of 1,200 Thai Airways passengers moved to a hotel near U-Tapao airfield. |
| He told the paper: "We are stuck here without a hope but all the Germans have got home already, the last went on Saturday. | He told the paper: "We are stuck here without a hope but all the Germans have got home already, the last went on Saturday. |
| "We just keep getting bumped. It's quite clear that Brits are well down the pecking order when it comes to getting home. I have not seen any British consular officials, but the Aussies have been here in force and I know they have been using their influence to get their citizens home. | "We just keep getting bumped. It's quite clear that Brits are well down the pecking order when it comes to getting home. I have not seen any British consular officials, but the Aussies have been here in force and I know they have been using their influence to get their citizens home. |
| "I have rung up the British embassy twice, but they just say 'sit tight'. Why can't they be like the other embassy officials we see here?" | "I have rung up the British embassy twice, but they just say 'sit tight'. Why can't they be like the other embassy officials we see here?" |
| Fear for Christmas | |
| Another stranded British tourist, Jane Thewlis, told the Times she felt let down by UK officials. | |
| "Many countries have arranged special flights for its trapped country men and women. Our government is taking the position that the situation will rectify itself and we can stay put," she said. | |
| "I have been travelling alone and now face the possibility of spending the Christmas period away from those I love." | |
| Those wishing to travel to or from Bangkok were urged to monitor travel advice and to stay in contact with their tour operator or airline. | Those wishing to travel to or from Bangkok were urged to monitor travel advice and to stay in contact with their tour operator or airline. |
| The closures have hit Thailand's tourist industry hard, with the loss of millions of pounds of revenue. | The closures have hit Thailand's tourist industry hard, with the loss of millions of pounds of revenue. |