BANGKOK: Protestors forced the closure of Bangkok’s second airport Thursday severing the last remaining commercial air links to the Thai capital.

Until Wednesday airlines were operating domestic flights out of Don Muang airport, Bangkok’s oldest airfield.

Officials are now considering using military airports in the area to accommodate flights diverted from Suvarnabhumi airport, which has been closed since Tuesday evening.

Passengers seeking to leave the country must now drive to other international airports in the country. Chiang Mai is an 8-hour drive north of Bangkok and Phuket 9 hours to the south. All air cargo operations in Bangkok have also been suspended.

On Wednesday, the head of the Thai Army bluntly advised the prime minister to step down and dissolve Parliament and told protesters who shut down Suvarnabhumi to end their demonstrations across the city.

The head of the Thai Army on Wednesday bluntly advised the prime minister to step down and dissolve Parliament and told protesters who shut down the main international airport to end their demonstrations across the city.

“The government should return the power to people in a new election,” General Anupong Paochinda said at a news conference after meeting with business leaders.

In a country with a history of military coups, including one just two years ago, Anupong added: “We are not pressuring the government. We are just giving advice about the way out for the country in this situation.”

But Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who returned late Wednesday from a trip overseas, rejected the general’s advice in a nationally televised speech. “I assure you, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “that this government was elected by the people under the king. The government will carry out its duty to the fullest for the benefit of the country and the benefit of the people.”

Somchai decided to hold the Cabinet meeting in Chiang Mai on Thursday, Thai media reported. Protestors in Bangkok have threatened to thwart any high-level government meetings.

A court late backed the government’s position Wednesday, ordering the protesters to leave Suvarnabhumi airport immediately.

But the mood at Suvarnabhumi on Wednesday was defiant. Protesters consolidated their control, forcing all flights in and out of the facility to be canceled. They took control of the control tower at midday after spending the night in the terminal.

“I am often asked whether we will stop our protests if the prime minister resigns,” Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the leaders of the protests, told thousands of cheering supporters in the afternoon. “You must quit first, and then we will sit and talk.”

Confidently striding across a makeshift stage, Sondhi added: “Are we going to stay here tonight? The answer is definitely yes!”

Stranded passengers, many of them foreigners on vacation, were evacuated by airport staff from the terminal throughout the day Wednesday and sent to hotels in Bangkok. “Canceled” flashed across the flight schedule screens and check-in counters were not staffed.

Protesters set up cooking equipment and prepared vats of food in the terminal building, giving parts of the facility a festival-like atmosphere.

But with tensions running high among protesters and supporters of the government, the threat of violence remained high.

Assailants threw four explosive devices at anti-government demonstrators in pre-dawn attacks Wednesday, including one aimed at a group near the airport. At least three people were hurt, the police told The Associated Press.

In the northern city of Chiang Mai, government supporters killed an anti-government activist Wednesday, dragging him from his car before shooting him, Reuters reported.

The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok advised Americans to “stay away from the airport given the potential for violence and civil disobedience.”

The seizure of the airport came as Thailand entered its peak tourist season.

Many angry travelers who spent the night in the airport vowed never to return to the kingdom, a possible blow to a country where tourism provides millions of jobs and billions of dollars.

“Keeping the airport closed will paralyze the country,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies in Bangkok. “This is long-term damage for Thailand. Who would want to come to Thailand now?”

The ease with which the protesters have shut down government offices and occupied the airport raised concerns about the government’s ability to maintain order.

“This calls into question the government’s capability to secure its most critical assets,” said Panitan Wattanayagorn, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University. Other facilities – power plants, dams, telecommunications centers – may also be vulnerable, Panitan said.

The airport was seized Tuesday by men wielding metal rods who pushed past riot police, marking a sharp intensification of three years of intermittent protests that have tarnished Thailand’s long-standing image as a freewheeling but stable nation. The protesters, who this week had declared a “final push” to unseat the government, have vowed to disrupt all government meetings. “If you can’t have a cabinet meeting it’s very difficult to rule the country,” Panitan said.

International Herald Tribune