Hercules still on stand-by as Kiwis leave Thailand

Passengers wait to leave Bangkok after Suvarnabhumi International airport reopened. Photo / AP

Almost half of the New Zealanders caught up by the past week's chaos at Bangkok's airports have either left Thailand or made arrangements to do so in the near future.

However an Air Force Hercules on standby in nearby Kuala Lumpur will remain in the region until it is certain commercial flights will be sufficient to take the remaining New Zealanders home.

Bangkok's main Suvarnabhumi International airport was set to open properly tonight, but it was expected to take weeks to clear the backlog of travellers caught out by the blockade of the city's airports by anti-government protesters.

A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said 412 New Zealanders in Bangkok had registered with the embassy.

However of those, 107 had already left the country and 70 more had made arrangements to leave.

Of the remaining 235, some were only part way through their holiday or travel, but had registered as a precaution.

He said embassy officials would continue to offer assistance to those who needed help to make new arrangements to leave.

Many New Zealanders had been flying to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore from other airports within Thailand and arranging travel from there.

However, from Saturday Thai Airlines would resume its direct Bangkok-Auckland flights.

Prime Minister John Key decided to send the Hercules on Tuesday, because there were no assurances New Zealanders stranded at the international airport would be able to get out quickly if the security situation deteriorated.

However fears of violence eased when protesters left the airport yesterday after a court decision disbanded the government for vote fraud.

If the Hercules is used it will fly to U-Tapao, a military airbase about 150km east of Bangkok.

New Zealanders in Bangkok would be able to get to U-Tapao and be taken to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, where they could catch flights home.

- NZPA