Thousands of travelers were left scrambling on Thursday when Thai Airways International canceled more than a dozen flights to and from Europe after Pakistan closed its airspace amid rising tensions with India.
Flights to and from London, Munich, Paris, Brussels, Milan, Vienna, Stockholm, Zurich, Copenhagen, Oslo, Frankfurt, and Rome had been scheduled to fly over Pakistani airspace on Thursday, Thai Airways said in a statement.
That left passengers scheduled to leave Thailand’s main Suvarnabhumi International Airport searching to find alternative flights early on Thursday. Most of Thai’s European flights leave after midnight.
“Last night there were about 5,000 passengers who came to check-in but unable to fly, mostly Thai Airways,” Colonel Umnart Chomshai, superintendent of tourism police at Suvarnabhumi Airport, told Reuters.
Another airport official said a help center had been set up for stranded travelers.
Thai Airways said later on Thursday it would resume flights after gaining permission from China to use its airspace for nearly a dozen flights to Europe set to leave on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.
However, it said all flights to and from Pakistan were canceled. The airline operates one flight a day to Karachi and Lahore and four flights per week to Islamabad.
Thailand is among the world’s most popular tourist destinations, receiving more than 38 million visitors last year.