Hoy puts wheels in motion to escape chaos in Bangkok

IT WAS supposed to be a relaxing sunshine holiday in Thailand after a punishing schedule following his record three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

But Scots cycling champion Chris Hoy found himself caught up in the chaos at Bangkok's international airport, which has been taken over by anti-government protesters.

There are more than 500 Britons trapped in the country and Thai officials say the airport will remain closed until at least tonight.

Fortunately for Hoy, 32, who became a household name after his victories at the Olympics this year, he was able to pull a few strings.

Thanks to a longstanding relationship with the global parcel delivery company DHL, he and his girlfriend, Sarra Kemp, were among the lucky few to find a flight out of the country – not from Bangkok airport, but from Phuket.

Last night, Hoy's agent, Ricky Cowan, revealed the cyclist had managed to fly out of Thailand "avoiding the Bangkok airport altogether".

He said: "They had a problem, but the guy from DHL got them on to a flight out of Phuket. They're in Singapore now."

Last night, the Olympian's father, David Hoy, said his son had flown from Bangkok to Singapore and was then due to travel on to Frankfurt and Majorca – where he has a date this morning to shoot a commercial for Kellogg's, one of his new sponsors.

He is then flying back to Scotland tomorrow.

Writing on his blog, David Hoy said they initially thought the troubles in Bangkok would quickly die down.

"We all thought it would blow over in a few hours, but five days later, there are thousands of people stranded.

"We started to look for options which included two-day train journeys or a 1,200-mile drive, neither of which filled Chris with joy. All local flights are fully booked for over a week."

He said at that point, they decided to pull some strings.

"Step up our good friend Guy Elliot, chief executive for DHL Logistics.

"Guy put us in touch with local contacts and, within three hours, Oscar De Bok and his team in Singapore had conjured up a seat on Tiger Airways out of Thailand and into Singapore. With a bit more magic, we have managed to get flights to Frankfurt and, from there, to Majorca."

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office minister, Bill Rammell, revealed yesterday he had asked Thai officials to let charter flights land at military airports to help British tourists struggling to get home.

But he said the UK would not be following the lead of Spain and Australia and sending planes to evacuate its citizens.

BACKGROUND

FLIGHTS from Thailand's international airport were suspended last Wednesday after hundreds of anti-government protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy stormed the terminal outside Bangkok.

Now, thousands of tourists are stranded in the country, with at least 500 Britons among them.

Spain's government is sending three planes to collect its citizens and the Australian airline Qantas is putting on a special flight from the resort island of Phuket.