Evacuation Flight from Thailand
In November 2008 Cebu Pacific began direct flights from Clark to Bangkok.  I decided to do a short trip to Bangkok to check out these flights. Just before my scheduled return PAD anti-government protestors shut down the two international airports in Bangkok.
Information of alternative ways to get from Thailand back to the Philippines was difficult to obtain.  Thai Visa website was offering flights from U-tapao (a military base near Pattaya) to Singapore for about $500.  Fortunately, I have a great travel agent in Bangkok (Noemi @ Dinero Travel - dinero@loxinfo.co.th)  Noemi notified me immediately when Cebu Pacific sent their first plane into U-tapao.  Great service on a ticket I had purchased in the Philippines instead of through her office!

Surprised that a budget airlines was sending flights to U-tapao I immediately contacted the Bangkok agency handling the manifests.  The individual told me it would be 4-5 days until they could get me a seat.  He then said he would call me the day before. I then asked the guy if he wanted my phone number and he said no. I asked him how he was going to call me if he didn't know my number. Reluctantly he took my phone number.
On the morning of 3 Dec the US embassy released the following message:
The Department of State is evaluating whether to charter aircraft to facilitate the onward travel of American citizens seeking to depart Thailand.  Americans who would like to take a U.S. government chartered flight from Bangkok to another airport in the region, such as Singapore, where they would then make their own arrangements to connect to onward flights, are requested to read through this message and respond as noted below.
 
Under U.S. law, an American citizen receiving U.S. government transportation assistance is required to pay for the cost of travel at the rate of the most recently available full fare economy ticket.   Therefore, American citizens who choose to fly on this charter must either pay prior to departure with a personal check or sign a promissory note (an Emergency Loan Application and Evacuation document) for the amount stated and reimburse the U.S. government for the flight within sixty days.  Cash and credit payments can not be handled.    
 
American citizens who depart Thailand on a U.S. government charter will be individually responsible for booking and paying for their onward travel from the transit point to their final destination.   Americans will also be individually responsible to pay for their own accommodation at the transit point should an overnight stay be required before connecting to the onward flight.   However, U.S. Embassy officials at the transit point will be available to provide information about local hotels and may be able to facilitate onward travel arrangements if assistance is needed.
 
Commercial flights continue to depart Thailand through airports outside of Bangkok, although space has been limited.  While more commercial flights will become available as the Bangkok airports reopen, the backlog of demand may continue to make departure travel arrangements difficult for the near future. 
 
American citizens may choose to wait until regular commercial flights are available using their already purchased tickets.  We anticipate that the charter flight will cost approximately $550 (though this may change depending upon the transit point destination).  
 
American citizens in Thailand who would like to depart Thailand by charter should contact the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok immediately to alert us of your interest.  Your response will help us evaluate whether charters are a viable option and how many charters would be needed.    Please note that at this time no final decision has been made on the use of charters. 

 
On the morning of 3 Dec I was contacted by a friend of a friend (Frank) that was also booked on a cancelled Cebu Pacific flight.  I gave him the phone numbers for Nancy Aviation, the office handling the manifests.  Frank called me back a few hours later to inform me that they told him he was on a flight that evening. I immediately called Nancy Aviation to ask why I was told 4-5 days and this guy was getting out the day he called.  The agent at Nancy told me there were plenty of seats and if I wanted to go now he would add me to the manifest and I should proceed immediately to BITECH convention center for check-in.  I questioned why I would go at 1 pm for a 0020 flight.  "OK, you can go at 8 pm."  Again I questioned why he told my friend 5 pm and he was telling me 8 pm?  "OK, you go 5 pm."

I threw a few last minute items in my suitcases and headed off to the convention center about 3 pm.  On arrival there is no one outside that can answer questions, so I got in line and went through the metal detectors set up in the entrance. Inside is one large room with chairs scattered around in no semblance of rows. Lot of people just sitting on the floor so you pretty much had to pick up your bags to clear peoples heads or suitcases.

I made my way up to the proper check-in counter and was told to take a seat. After about 20 minutes on the floor a guy came by holding up a paper for Cebu Pacific.  He told us to follow him.  He took us outside and around the side of the building where we got in a line to get our check-in bag weighed.

It wasn't a long line, but it took me 45 minutes to get to the scale.  Now I found out what was taking so long. They has a 4 page list of names (not in alphabetical order). Individuals had to search the list and find their name before they could put their bag on the scale. I've now been here almost 3 hours and my name is not on the list.  I called Frank and told him I wasn't on the list so I was going to head back to my condo.  Franks tells me he wasn't on the list, but there was another guy named Frank so they just crossed off the guys last name and wrote in his last name!

I went back through the metal detectors and drug my bags back to the gate where I found a small group that had all been told by Nancy Aviation that they were on the flight, but their names were not on the manifest.  About this time a petite Thai lady named Tess stepped up and took charge. She called Nancy Aviation who immediately denied they had talked to any of us.  She said we all needed to go back outside and she would start a standby list. By now the line for the scale is still 50 feet long and they are using a tiny flashlight to read the weight.

 

Dressed for success with a cold beer.

Sitting around waiting for the standby call I'm approaching 4 hours and it is time to search for a restroom. The only one is back inside through the metal detector line again! A little after 7 pm Tess starts the standby call which doesn't really reflect the time people got to the airport, but rather the order in which people found the list and got their names written down. Due to some no shows, everyone on the list got manifested for the flight. Now if their final manifest was correct there should have been 4 empty seats on the plane.  Next, back through the metal detector line and into the convention center to get a boarding pass.

Busses leaving BITECH in convoy for U-tapao airport about 2.5 hours to the south

 

Typical economy class lounge

 

After receiving the boarding pass, we are told to take a seat because we cannot proceed to immigration until 7:30.  Tess comes by again and hands us a free meal and bottled water.  After immigration and another metal detector (for hand carried only) we proceed to a hallway in the back of the room and wait for out bus.  At this last metal detector they took people check-in bag and many people throughout the night thought the airlines were handling the bags from that point. Not so. Everyone was suppose to find their bag on the other side of the x-ray and take it to their bus. Some people we told went back over 3 hours later and their bags were still sitting there. I wonder how many never made it to where people were going?

This Cebu Pacific employee kept setting up inside and outside to assist people find their name on the manifest. I never saw him find a single name!

Hurry up and wait!

 

Boarding announcements were sometimes upside down

Final waiting area. No toilets or any where to smoke for the last 6.5 hours
Once I finally got past the final metal detector it seemed pretty certain we would go, but there was no idea how long the wait would be.  The plane was scheduled to take off out of U-tapao at 12:30.  As we sat there it became obvious that wasn't an achievable take-off time. Tired, hot, and in need of a bathroom, they decided to entertain us.  What could be better than a group of guys beating on steel drums! If I didn't have high blood pressure that night, this would have guaranteed it!  What could they be thinking?  Fortunately it only lasted about 10 minutes.
Finally about midnight we boarded large tourist busses. All these busses were equipped with bathrooms, but they were locked! Amazingly enough we got a police escort for the first 30-40 minutes. When we got to U-tapao everyone was kept inside the busses. For 10-15 minutes we could see the people outside walking to/from the bathrooms and standing around smoking cigarettes.
Finally about 2 am the busses took us to the aircraft. A non-eventful flight and we landed in Manila shortly after sunrise.