ELASTIC PHUKET Air Berlin Incident

Despite the Thursday night Phuket Airport incident which featured an emergency landing of an Air Belin flight with 249 passengers, the island's gateway is back to normal.
Reports are in the stranded travelers have been handled and flights are operating as usual.
Certainly the report which had an engine catching fire after take-off and a hasty landing which blew out a reported three tires on the Airbus A330-200 has everyone sighing with relief.
I was at the airport early Friday morning for a day trip to Bangkok and despite being ticketed on Thai Airways who were going to be delayed to mid-morning, was put on a departing Bangkok Airways flight with little hassle. Kudos to Thai and Bangkok Airways for coooperation.
While Phuket remains stretched, it does show just how good our flight connections remain and access, which is one of the leading plus signs for tourism and real estate.