Long Songkran break a boon for Thai airline industry, says Aerothai

It estimates that April will see 36,150 flights, or 7 per cent more than the 33,796 flights in March.

“The domestic tourism industry will do better in April thanks to the long Songkran holidays,” Aerothai vice-president Thinnakorn Chuwong said. “Meanwhile, the number of international flights passing over Thai airspaces should also rise slightly thanks to an improvement in the outbreak situation in many countries, signalling an improvement in the global airline industry.

“The government’s decision to let vaccinated foreign tourists travel in certain provinces freely without undergoing mandatory quarantine will help the Thai airline industry recover faster and move closer to the level of 3,000 flights daily, like before the pandemic,” he added.

The program, dubbed “tourism sandbox”, will pilot in Phuket from July 1. Under the sandbox, tourists who can verify they have been inoculated against Covid-19 and test negative can fly into Phuket and move around freely without having to quarantine. Similar schemes will be applied to other destinations like Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani later when more people have been vaccinated and more preventive measures have been put in place.

“Aerothai has prepared additional staff and equipment for air-traffic management at airports nationwide for more domestic flights during Songkran to ensure smooth air traffic flow and passengers’ safety,” Thinnakorn said.