BANGKOK, 21 February 2014 Suvarnabhumi Airport authorities are making preparations to deal with farmers making their way to the airport to protest the government’s delay in paying them money under the rice pledging program.
Around a thousand farm tractors are being brought to Bangkok from provinces in the lower northern region and upper central region by farmers who aim to demand the payment owed to them. According to them, they will head toward Suvarnabhumi Airport and camp there until they receive their money, but have no plans to shut down the country’s main airport. Leaders of the group said they realized closing down the airport would incur damage in many aspects, and they were traveling there to ‘exert a symbol’ to pressure the government into paying them.
Squadron Leader Sita Divari, chairman of Airports Of Thailand Plc., said the long-term parking field will be used to accommodate the protesters’ vehicles and drinking water will be supplied to them. He said he would like to ask the rice growers not to shut down the airport, as doing so would damage the nation. He also emphasized that passengers should leave for the airport 3-4 hours before their scheduled flights during this period.
