A PASSENGER collapsed and died while trying to board an emergency relief flight at Phuket International Airport last night.

It is believed the passenger, a 71-year-old man from Australia, suffered a heart attack while waiting to take his seat on a special Qantas flight.

He was taken by ambulance to Thalang Hospital, where he died about midnight.

The man, reportedly suffering from chronic illness, had been forced to endure a 12-hour bus ride from Bangkok to make a connection with the special flight.

With the early departure from Bangkok and the waiting time for checking in for Flight QS6031, the diversion became an endurance test. The flight eventually took off at 2.45am for Singapore.

Previously a Thai Airways passenger, the man was among thousands of tourists forced to seek alternative means to return home after anti-government protesters occupied Bangkok's two largest airports.

The protest lasted eight days, seriously damaged Thailand's worldwide reputation as a hospitable tourist destination and cost the country billions of baht.

It is believed Australian embassy officials who had already been posted to Phuket airport to assist passengers, took the man to hospital, where he died.

Phuket airport officials confirmed the circumstances of the man's death. Phuketwan has been given the man's name but is withholding it from publication until relatives in Australia have been notified.

While the Bangkok airports blockade has been lifted and flights are returning to normal now, a backlog of thousands of trapped tourists is still being dealt with.

Many passengers originally scheduled to fly out of Bangkok have been forced to divert to Phuket and other exit points.

Being trapped unwillingly in Thailand has led to increased stress. The discomfort of departing from a military air base near Bangkok or a long journey to alternative departure points, including Phuket, has many tourists saying they will never return.