More than 30 flights bound for Bangkok from Japan were canceled or returned to Japan on Wednesday as protesters forced the Thai capital's Suvarnabhumi International Airport to shut down.

Japan Airlines canceled 10 flights between Bangkok and Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and will cancel two more Thursday morning, affecting a total of some 2,100 people. Thai Airways International has also canceled 15 flights between Bangkok and Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka since early Wednesday Japan time.

All Nippon Airways flew one of its two flights to Bangkok from Tokyo's Narita airport in the morning but has decided to return it to Narita. It has canceled its other Bangkok-bound flight that had been scheduled to depart in the evening, according to local media reports.

Suvarnabhumi International Airport was paralyzed after protesters led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) expanded their besiege on state agencies to the airport Tuesday evening in a showdown to topple the government led by premier Somchai Wongsawat.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2008)