Bangkok: Anti-government protesters have allowed 37 empty airliners to leave Bangkok's besieged main airport after agreeing to a request by Thai authorities, officials said today.

A total of 88 aircraft had been stranded at Suvarnabhumi international airport since demonstrators stormed the terminal and forced it to close last Tuesday, an Airports of Thailand spokeswoman said.

"Thirty-seven aircraft have left Suvarnabhumi since the first aircraft of Siam GA (a regional airline) took off on Sunday evening," the spokeswoman said.

"International airlines will have to contact us to take those stranded aircraft out of Suvarnabhumi."

The spokeswoman said that of the original 88 planes, 29 belong to flag carrier Thai Airways, 16 to Thai AirAsia and 15 to private-run Bangkok Airways.

The remaining 28 aircraft are from various other airlines, 12 of them belonging to the airlines of foreign countries.

No passengers were however allowed to leave through Suvarnabhumi, officials said.

The People s Alliance for Democracy protest movement has refused to leave the airport, and the smaller Don Mueang domestic hub in Bangkok which it has occupied since Thursday, until the government resigns.

About 100,000 travellers have been stranded in Thailand by the protests, with the main exodus point so far being the Vietnam War-era U-Tapao naval base 190 kilometres southeast of Bangkok.

Source : PTI