10 Apr, 2022
Slowly, gradually, but palpably, airlines are starting to increase their frequency and routes again.
Not Air is launching direct flights to Phuket from Northeastern Thailand (and visa versa), and Air Asia is adding flight from Phuket to Singapore, starting next Tuesday.
Yesterday morning, a Nok Air flight landed in Phuket, marking the new plan for one direct flight per week between Phuket and Ubon Ratchatani in Northeastern Thailand. Meanwhile, the manager of AirAsia at Phuket International Airport announced yesterday that there will be flights twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, between Phuket and Singapore.
In an announcement, the Tourism Authority of Thailand praised the airlines for connecting two major provinces, one in Thailand’s South, and the other in the Northeast.
“…connecting the big cities, bringing them closer together”.
TAT’s Ubon Ratchatani office said that in addition to helping people travel, it hopes the new flights will help revive Thailand’s tourism economy by adding more regional point to point services. The AirAsia manager in Phuket said the flights to and from Singapore are hoped to encourage tourism to Phuket during the Songkran holiday this upcoming week.
He added that there are currently 5 direct flights from Phuket, to Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, and Chiang Mai. These flights, he said, have received positive responses, and have an average passenger load of 78%. He said advance reservations across all routes during Songkran were at 80-90%. AirAsia is offering special promotion rates for the flights during the Songkran holiday.
Thais started travelling to their home provinces across the country today, ahead of the holiday. The area around one motorway is reportedly heavy with traffic, and a major train station in Sonkhla province in Southern Thailand is reportedly packed.
Songkran is officially next Wednesday to Friday but many Thais have squeezed two extra holidays next Monday and Tuesday to make a 9 day holiday. It’s the busiest time for travel in Thailand each year, and the most dangerous time on the roads as well.
