Phuket Airport welcomes first 7 day quarantine travellers
In the early hours of Saturday, a flight arrived at Phuket International Airport welcoming the first travellers to benefit from the reduced mandatory quarantine launched on April 1. The reduction of the isolation period is part of the 4 stages of fully reopening Thailand to international tourism, planned to roll out over the next 8 months (and probably into early next year).
The flight was a Thai Airways plane on a direct route from Frankfurt, Germany and landed at 6:30am this morning. The new quarantine scheme allows for vaccinated travellers to be quarantined for only 1 week, while those who are not yet vaccinated still will have a 10 day quarantine period, reduced from the 14 day isolation time the rest of the nation faces.
Senior airport management was there to welcome this much anticipated international flight, as the passengers offloaded and were brought through clearing procedures before officially being allowed to enter Thailand, along with the ubiquitous photo opportunities. Phuket Airport General Manager Thanee Chuangchoo viewed this as a symbolic representation of tourism being reborn in Thailand.
“We hope this will signal the start of tourists starting to return to Phuket and we are delighted to announce the international terminal at Phuket International Airport is now open as of 00:01 am on April 1.”
Thai Airways has announced two direct flights from Frankfurt to Phuket in April and May, today’s arrival being the first. The second is scheduled for May 7 with the same itinerary. There have not been any announcements yet of return flights leaving Thailand.
The Thai Airways plane, an Airbus 350, can carry 289 economy seats and 32 business seats. There has not been an official announcement of how many people were on board this flight. The airline is hoping to ease back into international travel with flights scheduled between Bangkok and several locations in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, UK, France, Germany, and Denmark in the next few months.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
