At least 800 Filipinos were still stranded at Thailand's main international airport here as their flights to Manila remained cancelled Thursday (November 27), two days after antigovernment protesters seeking to oust Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat stormed and occupied the terminal.

Philippine Airlines personnel at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that all PAL flights were still cancelled until further notice. Another Philippine airline, Cebu Pacific, said it had cancelled all flights from Bangkok until November 30, its agents in the capital said.

Thai Airways also cancelled its flights from Manila to Bangkok.

The stranded passengers had to stay in hotels at their own expense.

In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday night that the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok has been assisting the stranded travelers.

Earlier, it advised Filipinos against nonessential travel to Thailand as recommended by the embassy for their safety and convenience.

Those already in Thailand should contact the embassy for help, said the DFA's spokesperson, assistant secretary Claro Cristobal.

Since the closure of the airport on Tuesday night (November 25), Cebu Pacific cancelled four flights three to Manila and one to Clark in Pampanga involving at least 600 passengers. Its last flight (5J 932) for Manila left Bangkok early Wednesday with no passengers.

Cebu Pacific flies once daily from Bangkok to Manila with 150-170 passengers, and three times a week to Clark, with 140-150 passengers.

PAL has cancelled four flights involving at least 480 passengers since Wednesday. PAL's last flight (PR 732) to Manila left at 11:20pm on Tuesday.

PAL flies twice daily from Bangkok to Manila, carrying 150 to 200 passengers on a single flight.

Frantic callers

Offices of PAL and Cebu Pacific here have been besieged by calls from anxious and irate passengers asking for information on the next available flights. Most Filipino passengers were tourists flying home or Bangkok-based employees going home for a short vacation, while many foreigners were attending important meetings in Manila.

A passenger whose father had just died kept pestering Cebu Pacific. Others on vacation were angry that they would be spending less time in Manila because they could not yet fly home.

As of press time Thursday night, there was still no indication when the airport would finally resume operations.

The Inquirer went to the airport on Thursday afternoon to find the place at a standstill and virtually deserted. Antigovernment protesters occupied the entrance to the departure area on the fourth floor, together with stranded Thai Muslims on their way to Saudi Arabia.

Some Western tourists said they didn't know the airport was closed and doubted if they would ever return to Thailand again.

If the high stockpiles of food and bottles of water were any indication, the protesters could be prepared for a long siege until Prime Minister Somchai resigns.

Military, police indifferent

Thailand will host a key regional summit next month despite concerns from countries all over the world about protests that have shut the main airports, a government spokesman said Thursday.

Veerinthira Nathongbor said there was no change of plan for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, despite the closure of Bangkok's two airports this week as an anti-government protest campaign escalated.

"The government confirms Thailand will go ahead and host the Asean summit in (the northern city of) Chiang Mai and have declared December 15 to 18 as holidays in the city to enable people to host the summit," he told reporters.

Bangkok's only other international airport at Don Muang was also ordered closed Thursday, totally isolating the capital from the rest of the world.

With the military and the police remaining indifferent to the political tug-of-war, no solution is in sight.

On Wednesday, the Army chief, in an effort to end the standoff, called on Somchai to quit, dissolve Parliament and call for snap elections, and on the protesters to stop their siege. But Somchai rejected the proposal.

Thursday, Somchai met with his Cabinet members to find solutions to the political impasse.

In Manila, Vice President Noli de Castro, presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers, said the government was closely monitoring the events and the OFW situation in Thailand.

"Our government is prepared for any eventuality. We advise our Filipino workers in Thailand to avoid those conflict-stricken areas and not to get involved in Thailand's current political strife. We want to ensure the safety of our Filipino workers caught in the crossfire," De Castro said in a statement.

With a report from Cynthia D. Balana in Manila