The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Bangkok

At least 3,000 passengers remained stranded at Bangkok's international airport early Wednesday as anti-government protesters kept control of the building, the airport chief said.

"There are 78 outbound and incoming flights affected. I have been informed by Thai Airways that 3,000 passengers are stranded at the terminal now," airport director Saereerat Prasutanont told AFP.

"Operations at Suvarnabhumi Airport have been totally shut down since 4am (2100 GMT Tuesday) both outbound and inbound after protesters refused to negotiate with anyone except the prime minister," said Saereerat.

The Bangkok Post in a text messages to subscribers said masked members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) invaded the control tower at Suvarnabhumi airport.

The leader of a pro-government group in Thailand urged supporters to march in Bangkok, raising the prospect of street clashes with anti-government protesters.

"I will hold a press conference today to urge our people to come out and declare our stance against a coup," Jatuporn Prompan, a ruling party politician and leader of a major pro-government group, told Reuters on Wednesday.

A series of small bomb blasts wounded several anti-government protesters blockading the airport on Wednesday, protest leaders said, as chaos ruled inside the terminal.

One bomb wounded four members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a spokesman said, hours after the PAD stormed the airport late on Tuesday in a dramatic escalation of its six-month campaign to oust Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.

The Nation newspaper said on its website three explosions had been heard outside the $4 billion terminal, the gateway for nearly 15 million tourists to Thailand last year.

The Nation said a fourth blast appeared to target PAD supporters in another part of Bangkok. It said 12 people were wounded in the overnight attacks, but police have not confirmed the casualties.

Markets were under some pressure after the latest eruption in a political deadlock that is entering its fourth year. Stocks were down nearly 2 percent at 0600 GMT and the baht was trading at 35.29, after hitting a 21-month low of 35.36 earlier in the day.

Thailand's finance minister has said the protests could have a damaging effect on the economy, which depends on tourism as a key sector and is already vulnerable to global financial turmoil.

Somchai was due to return from an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru on Wednesday afternoon, amid rumours he may declare a state of emergency. A government spokesman said he would not land at Suvarnabhumi.

"I will get off the plane wherever it lands," the Bangkok Post quoted him as saying from Peru.

Thousands of passengers slept overnight on benches and luggage carousels, many annoyed that airport staff fled when the PAD demonstrators, dressed in their movement's yellow shirts, invaded the terminal, forcing officials to cancel flights.

"We came here and we saw all these people in yellow. We thought they were football fans. Now we're just waiting," said a Dutchman who gave his name as Mark.

Thai Airways, the national carrier, said 16 inbound flights had been diverted to Bangkok's old airport Don Muang, 45 kms from Suvarnabhumi, and another three flights to a Vietnam War-era airbase 150 kms southeast of Bangkok.

Budget carrier Air Asia, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific halted service to the Thai capital, a major regional hub with 125,000 passengers passing through Suvarnabhumi daily.

Singapore has advised its citizens not to visit Thailand.

American Kevin Harris said he had arrived for an early morning flight only to find people sleeping wherever they could, all around the terminal. "I just want to get home for Thanksgiving, but it's not going to happen. We have no idea what's happening here."

Half the flights on information boards had 'cancelled' beside them. Others were not leaving at their scheduled time.

Hundreds of protesters slept in the terminal overnight after easily pushing past lines of riot police on Tuesday night. They resumed their protests outside at dawn as police looked on.

Police have gone out of their way to avoid a fight since the PAD began its "final push" on Monday to unseat the government it accuses of being a pawn of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and lives in exile.

Gunfire broke out on the streets of the capital on Tuesday as armed PAD members opened fire on government supporters.

At least 11 people were hurt, officials said, in violent scenes shown on Thai television.

Bloodshed could provoke another coup, a stated goal of the PAD, but army chief General Anupong Paochinda has said another putsch would not heal Thailand's deep political rifts.

A Bangkok Post editorial said the airport blockade "will only further erode the rapidly dwindling public support t that the protesters badly need at this critical juncture of its campaign".

The PAD claims the backing of Bangkok's urban middle classes and elite, while Thaksin and the government have the support of rural voters and the urban poor.