01 Jul, 2021
PHUKET: The first tourists to arrive in Thailand under the Phuket Sandbox scheme were 25 tourists arriving on Etihad Airways Flight EY430 from Abu Dhabi, which touched down at Phuket International Airport today (July 1).
The passengers were welcomed to Phuket then escorted through the procedures at the airport to ensure they are fully vaccinated and comply with all the requirements for being permitted to enter Thailand through the Sandbox policy, which begins today (July 1).
The passengers had their body temperatures checked and then had their documents checked to confirm that they had been vaccinated, had the US$100,000 health insurance coverage and had booked to stay at least 14 nights at SHA+ approved venues, among other requirements.
Once cleared by officials checking their Sandbox credentials, the tourists were then escorted to clear Immigration and Customs procedures before being taken to have swab test samples taken to be tested for COVID-19.
As for the atmosphere in the international arrivals hall today, it’s starting to come back to life. Shops selling goods and souvenirs are back open again, noted those present at the airport this morning.
Phuket officials today confirmed that just four flights are to land in Phuket today, not five as previously announced.
The Etihad Airways flight, scheduled to touch down at 10:20am, arrived at about 11am.
In total, just under 400 tourists are expected to arrive in Phuket today under the Phuket Sandbox scheme.
According to Phuket officials this morning, Qatar Airways Flight QR840 from Doha-Phuket is to land at 1:30pm with 136 passengers on board, El Al Israel Airlines Flight LY87 from Tel Aviv is to land at 1:45pm with 137 passengers on board, and Singapore Airlines Flight SQ736 is to arrive at 5:10pm with an estimated 100 people on board.
Prime Minister Prayut is scheduled to be at Phuket airport in person to welcome the passengers arriving on the Singapore flight, Phuket officials noted.
