BKK airport closure - the impact on Laos tourism

As a lot of people travelling to Laos come via BKK, I%26#39;m just wondering how BKK airport closure is going to impact also on Laos tourism for the upcoming peak season.

We are scheduled to fly into BKK on 7/12, staying only one day and then training it to Ubon Ratchathani then onto Pakse. About a week after that we have a flight from Pakse to Vientiane. BKK airport might only be closed for a short time but some people are starting to speculate that it could be closed for quite a while. Even if the airport reopens, I%26#39;m not sure I want to go there.

I%26#39;m currently trying to figure out how to get to Pakse without going via BKK. I have a feeling it%26#39;s not going to be easy.

BKK airport closure - the impact on Laos tourism

air asia fly from Kuala lumpur to vientiane and siem reap airways fly from siem reap to pakse (although i notice they have suspended all bookings at the moment......???)

BKK airport closure - the impact on Laos tourism

Yes, the BKK airport shutdown is horrible for travellers and Lao tourism businesses alike. Let%26#39;s hope it ends quickly without bloodshed.

On a brighter note, earlier this week on the BBC I saw an interview with the head of Air Asia and, apart from saying he expected to grow his airline tenfold in the next two years, said that the airline now offers flights from London to Kuala Lumpur for US$150 (although I understand passengers have to take their turn at the plane%26#39;s controls!)

Additionally, a couple of days ago, the Vientiane Times carried a large Air Asia ad anouncing flights from Kuala Lumpur to Vientiane for what seemed like pennies (I can%26#39;t remember the exact amount, perhaps other Vientiane residents can).

Hopefully, in future many more visitors to Laos will be able to come here more cheaply and without having to transit in Bangkok.

The closure of Bangkok%26#39;s airports is having a terrible effect on the tourism industry in Laos, and I have received many cancellations over the last week. I am actually %26#39;stuck%26#39; in Bangkok at the moment (there are far worse places to be stuck). Trains and buses from Bangkok and Nong Khai (border crossing into Laos near Vientiane) still have plenty of availability though.

As most flights for tourists for Laos,Cambodia,Vietnam and Myanmar from European airports go via BKK the impact of the closure affects all of the region, and just when the high season is starting.

Come on Thailand-sort it,and quick!

Mine is a sad story, but probably a common one, about the effects of the BKK airport closure.

We were supposed to fly from Singapore to Bangkok, then on the same day to Udon Thani, take an international bus on the following morning and spend 8 days in different locations in Laos.

Now we are stuck in Singapore because Air Asia does not reschedule the flights before they cancel the original ones. Therefore, the only option is to wait and then fly from Kuala Lumpur to Vientiane, and the price of that flight has gone up by 35 % since the closure. We had bought the tickets in July when the Aussi dollar was strong and the ticket prices low, so even tough we will receive a full refund in the form of ';Credit Shell'; it is not even close enought to cover the cost of new tickets.

Because we have to wait for the flight cancellations and new flights, our itinerary in Laos is ruined. We are lucky if we have time to come to Laos at all! I am already writing cancellation emails to hotels, and my heart is bleeding! It will take many years before we are able to do this kind of trip again.

I am so disappointed, upset and fed up with the Thais - both protestors and government!

We%26#39;re essentially in the same boat. Supposed to fly Melbourne to Bangkok 7/12 but that%26#39;s just not going to happen. The only feasible option for us is to fly into Singapore, train it up to KL and catch that flight to Vientiane, and yes adds quite a lot to the trip for a family of 4.

We were going to enter southern Laos from Bangkok via Ubon Ratchathani and we had a flight from Pakse to Vientiane a week after that. So even if we can make it to Laos the whole itinerary is screwed. We were also going to exit Laos via Chiang Khong in northern Thailand with flight from Chiang Rai back to BKK late December. If this situation is still happening then who knows how long we would be stuck in BKK.

So at this stage it looks like we will have to cancel. And we are set to lose more then $6000, been saving and planning for quite a while for this trip. My family is devastated. Who can I send the bill to.....

I like(ed) Thailand and BKK one of our favourite places but never again will I set foot in that country. I%26#39;m sick of their carryings on over the years (been travelling there since the early 80s) and things have just gone from bad to worse on the political front. Hopefully the world will now see them for what they really are and shut them out. They had me hoodwinked for nearly 3 decades.

I have been trying to contact Laos airlines in Vietnane via email and phone to see if there is any way we can cancel/reschedule/reroute our Pakse-Vientiane flight but I have been unable to contact them. This is not helping. Any suggestions anyone.

To all those on this thread who are affected: I hope that your situation can be resolved and that you don%26#39;t lose money.

The selfish PAD really have caused a great deal of people a lot of hardship, and not only their own countrypeople.

Hi dclayw, yes, you seem to be in the same boat with us and with many more.

My advice and philosophy in this situation is to minimize the loss. If your Mel-BKK flight is cancelled by the airline, you will receive a full refund, I believe (?). You will lose only the price of Laos flights, which is much I know, but it is still less than losing the whole holiday. If you can get a flight to SIN, your plan to fly out from KL to VTE is a sound one, and when in Laos, you can go to Lao Airlines office and sort out the rest of your tickets. You have plenty of time to travel overland in Laos and then go home the same way you arrived.

There is a Lao Airlines office (agent) in Singapore which may be able to help as well. I bought Lao Airlines ticket on internet, and I believe, that they can be amended, changed or cancelled, with a fee of course. We have to change our flight from Luang Prabang to Hanoi, to Vientiane-Hanoi, as we will have no time to go to north at all. I dont know yet how much extra we have to pay.

Rufuscat, thank you for your note. It is not only us tourists who are losing money, I feel really sorry for the tourist operators in Laos. They are in this mess without any reason at all, they are the real victims.

dclayw Sorry but today Tuesday the airline office is closed for it%26#39;s Lao National Day.

Try sending a fax on Wednesday alerting them to your e-mails. Remember they are 3 hours behind Brisbane time zone.

Hope that helps.

Yep. Lao National Day today. Everything is closed.