Protests in Thailand shut down airport

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Hundreds of protesters seeking to topple Thailand’s prime minister seized Bangkok’s international airport terminal Tuesday, forcing cancellation of all international flights.

Members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy stormed through police lines at Suvarnabhumi Airport and into the fourth-floor departure area, according to reports from Bangkok.

That forced officials to suspend outbound flights temporarily. Some arriving flights were rerouted to the northern city of Chiang Mai or the southern resort island of Phuket.

Images of tourists stranded in an airport terminal besieged by demonstrators were being broadcast just as struggling resorts and hotels in Thailand’s multi-billion-dollar tourism industry prepare for the peak vacation season.

Earlier Tuesday, Thai television showed video of alliance supporters firing pistols and slingshots at government supporters who had pelted the protesters with rocks as they drove in a truck from a demonstration at Bangkok’s former Don Muang airport.

Eleven people were reported injured, most of them government supporters.