Transit passengers must have health certificate before buying ticket: CAAC

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has ordered the implementation of new regulations for any international flights entering Thailand – All passengers must have a medical certificate showing that they are free of Covid-19 before booking their ticket. The move follows China’s decision to temporarily ban Thai Lion Air from flying the Bangkok-Guangzhou route and Thai AirAsia X from flying Bangkok-Tianjin, after some passengers arriving in China tested positive for the virus.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China announced on Wednesday that it’s banning the carriers from those routes for a week starting Monday, as a punishment for bringing Covid-19 patients into the country.

11 travellers aboard Thai Lion Air’s flight SL117 to Guangzhou and Thai Airasia X’s flight XJ808 to Tianjin landed with the virus. Both flights had transited through Bangkok although none of the patients left the plane during its brief stop-over. Fears of a possible second wave of infection continue to delay a return of scheduled international flights back into Thailand.

Thailand already has a near-total ban on international arrivals, excepting limited number of people who fall into special categories. The amended rules stipulate that flights landing in the kingdom, whatever their purpose, cannot allow passengers to disembark, and all must be certified free of Covid-19 before buying their tickets.

“Any airline found to have carried Covid-19 patients will be immediately blacklisted.”

SOURCE: Nation Thailand