Russian airlines resume direct flights to Phuket

Tourism in Phuket got another boost from Russian tourists as the first direct flights from Moscow to Phuket International Airport resumed. The airport expects to see an average of 30,000 arrivals per day in November. Ikar Airlines was the first to arrive from Moscow yesterday afternoon, with a flight from Russian national airline Aeroflot landing later at 9.10pm.

Ikar is a charter airline that operates under Pegas Fly. They usually run flights from Moscow to Phuket, Krabi, and U-Tapao Airport serving Pattaya. Their plane landed at 1.23pm yesterday at Phuket Airport and was met with a special reception from airport staff.

Some 449 Russian travellers were aboard the flight. They were met by the staff administrative officer for Phuket as well as airport staff who gathered to mark the return of direct flights from Russia to Phuket.

Going into the winter High Season, when many Russian tourists flee to warm locations like Phuket, Koh Samui, and other tropical Southeast Asian destinations, three Russian airlines will shuffle passengers from around Russia to Phuket.

Ikar Airlines which arrived first will have a regular schedule running flights from Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow to Phuket on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday each week. The schedule is confirmed until March 25. Aeroflot will fly between the same two airports, but twice as often as Ikar. It will fly daily from now until the season change on March 25.

Finally, Siberia Airlines will transport Russians from three major cities to Phuket. Their November to March high season schedule will run three flights a week – two on Monday and one on Thursday. The Thursday flight will bring people to Phuket from Irkutsk in Siberia. On Mondays, the airline will operate flights to Phuket from the far-east port city of Vladivostock. They will also fly from Novosibirsk, Russia’s third-largest city every Monday through the end of March.