Flights to China expected to increase to 200,000 per year: Aerothai

Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Co Ltd (Aerothai) says that flights between Thailand and China will increase from under 100,000 per year currently to 200,000 per year in the near future as a result of the mutual permanent visa waiver policy.

Designed to boost tourism, the policy, which kicked off in March this year, allows Chinese and Thai passport holders to enjoy visa-free holidays and transits through each country for up to 30 days.

Aerothai president Nopasit Chakpitak said on Tuesday that four major routes to China: Macao-Hong Kong, Hainan-eastern China, Laos-Vietnam-China, and Yunnan-western China, are responsible for about 60% of all flights to China and currently make up 20% of all Thailand’s international flights.

He estimated that total flights to China this year will be around 86,150, increasing 126% year on year.

Nopasit said as the passenger airlines and air logistics industry recover from the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, more operators have restored their routes to China, as well as applying to open new routes to destinations that are of economic importance.

“Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, is especially popular this year, as the city recorded 5,896 flights from Thailand in the past eight months,” he said. “We estimate that flights to Chengdu will cross 8,850 this year, a jump of 265% year on year.”

Nopasit added that Aerothai is already holding discussions with authorities in China and Laos with a view to opening parallel aviation routes to help ease congestion on the current flight path set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) that passes a “bottleneck” in northwestern Laos.

These routes will accommodate more flights from Thailand to Chinese economic cities such as Chengdu, Tianfu, Kunming, Guiyang, Chongqing, and Xi’an, he said, adding that they are expected to open within 2026 to accommodate some 200,000 flights per year.