Transport News
Thailand transport news, infrastructure updates, public transit, and traffic reports—stay informed on groundbreaking developments and real-time travel updates. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for transport news in Thailand.
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Highway number 7 from Pattaya to Map Ta Phut opens this Friday
According to the Thai Highways Department, the long awaited extended section of the Motorway Number 7 from Pattaya to Map Ta Phut will open up this Friday and will be accessible free of charge to users until the end of August. The Director General of the Highways Department informed the media this morning. “From May 22 the public can use…
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Cabinet gives the green light for Thai Airways to file for bankruptcy
Today PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has announced that the Cabinet approved the proposal from the Ministry of Transport that Thai Airways can file for bankruptcy at the Central Bankruptcy Court in order to be rehabilitated under the Bankruptcy Act. “It was the best course to help the troubled airline back onto its feet. Under the rehabilitation plan, Thai Airways will not…
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Global aviation in acute crisis
by Andrew J Wood “…by the end of May 2020 most airlines in the world will be bankrupt.” Global aviation has been battered and commercial scheduled air traffic remains mostly grounded as countries enforce their lockdowns and travel restrictions. There are few signs that the end is in sight. For the largest of carriers like IAG (British Airways), United, American…
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Registration steps for travel to or from Phuket
Although Phuket is still trying to maintain strict measures to control the spread of the Coronavirus and the island is still under a modified lock down. According to local Thai media you can apply to enter or leave the island with 2 methods of registration, Thai or foreigner. OPTION ONE. Departures from other provinces, travelling to Phuket, or people living…
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Fortress Phuket remains sealed off from the mainland
A request by Phuket officials to reopen the Sarasin Bridge has been refused. The Governor has confirmed that the island will remain ‘closed’ until further notice. That includes the Phuket International Airport which was going to re-open yesterday (May 16), but 24 hours after the notice to reopen the airport on Thursday, the Civil Aviation Authority did a U-turn on…
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Ban on international travel into Thailand extended until June 30
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has today announced an extension of their current ban on international travel another month, until at least the end of June, 2020. The current ban on scheduled international flights was extended last month to cover May, up to May 31. But now the CAAT have announced the extension for at least another month. There…
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Thai public balks at Thai Airways’ 60 billion bail out
A big decision is on the horizon for Thai Airways, the beleaguered national carrier. Crucial decisions are now being discussed which will define the airlines’ future. The airline was still haemorrhaging cash well before the coronavirus crisis started grounding planes from the start of February this year. Thai Airways’ fortunes have been in a death spiral for the past decade,…
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Thai Airways should file for bankruptcy: former finance minister
A former Finance Minister is proposing that Thai Airways formally file for bankruptcy, so the troubled national flag carrier can use the protection of the country’s bankruptcy law to begin rehabilitation. Kla party leader Korn Chatikavanich maintains that this is a “golden opportunity” for the financially battered airline to enter administration, under the bankruptcy process, and clear the way for real,…
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Phuket government officially requests the opening of land, water and air links
The southern resort island province of Phuket will ask permission from Bangkok to reopen its airport, sea ports and permanent road access to the mainland (Sarasin Bridge) after several days with no new Covid-19 infections detected. The provincial governor says the province will ask the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand for approval to reopen the airport this Saturday. The CAAT ordered…
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Checkpoint-tech introduced at the Phuket road entry point
Today 10 million baht was donated to the Tha Chatchai checkpoint (at the northern road entry on the island) for a new project called “Phuket Smart Check Point”. The project is aimed to support the islands’ reopening measures and help conduct screenings for high-risk groups. Not only will the project be used for Covid-19-related issues but the project will also…
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BTS and MRT roll out better preventative and social distancing measures
Since there has been a lot of backlash and social media scuttlebutt about the lack of social distancing on MRT and BTS train systems, the MD of the Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company, Sombat Kitjalaksak, has moved to apply improved social distancing measures by prioritising access to services in the station, platform, train, both at normal times and rush…
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Some taxis equipped with ‘barriers’ to protect against coronavirus transmission
Some taxis are being converted to be coronavirus-proof, well that’s the intention. A barrier designed by Royal Thai Air Force personnel, to protect people using taxis and keep drivers in business, has been rolled out. With possible close contact to many different people, taxi drivers are at risk of catching the virus. In February, a taxi driver was the first human-to-human virus transmission in…
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Four more Skytrain stations slated to open in June
Bangkok’s BTS Skytrain is as ubiquitous in Bangkok as good street food and fake Viagra, and it’s about to add four new stops to extend its reach. A spokeman says test runs to 4 new stations beyond Kasetsart University station (N13) began on April 8. The system currently comprises 43 stations along two lines: the Sukhumvit Line running northwards and…
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Airlines offered drop in landing fees and fuel excise at Thai airports
Airlines, international and domestic, have been hit hard with the impact on travel following the Coronavirus outbreak. Over the past month there’s been daily announcements of cancellations of flights and rescheduling to cope with border closures and daily changes in the coronavirus evolution. The Thai Cabinet yesterday approved a relief package which had been proposed by the Transport Ministry for…
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Thai Airways to waive exchange fees for more routes
Thai Airways International announced today that it will waive charges for flight swaps for even more passengers going to countries and territories affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The policy now extends to the following routes: Return trip: Bangkok-Japan, -South Korea, -Taiwan, -Singapore Exchange fees will be waived for THAI or THAI Smile code-share tickets issued on or before February 18…
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At least 30 injured in head-on train collision
A train collision yesterday at Pak Tho station in Ratcha Buri province, just west of Bangkok, has injured at least 30 people, including three railway staff. Traffic Police radio and local Jor Sor 100 radio reported the crash between a passenger express train and a freight train express train, which took place around 6:30pm. Thai media report that station staff…
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U-Tapao, AIS collaborate on smart terminal
U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport and AIS, Thailand’s largest GSM mobile phone operator, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to turn the airport’s Passenger Terminal 2 into a “smart terminal.” U-Tapao, a joint civil/military public airport serving Rayong and Pattaya City, has been working on developing digital solutions with AIS in its second passenger terminal since 2018. Now it is…
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Deputy transport minister says Thai Airways must increase revenue, cut costs
Thai Airways International is in the process of slashing costs and restructuring. Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam discussed Thailand’s open sky policy and stressed the importance of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure to turn the airline around and make it sustainable. Thaworn, along with the assistant secretary at the Ministry of Transport and other officials visited Thai Airways’ HQ to…
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Thailand to screen all airline passengers from China for coronavirus
Beginning yesterday, all airline passenger arrivals from China, regardless of their point of origin, are being screened for the Wuhan Coronavirus when entering Thailand. Health officials announced the measure after six more Chinese visitors were diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total in Thailand to 14 cases. The death toll from the outbreak now stands at 131 (as of Wednesday morning),…
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Immigration checkpoints enhance hygiene measures nationwide
Health screening measures are being boosted today at immigration checkpoints nationwide to prevent the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus into Thailand. Since cases were confirmed in Malaysia and Singapore, officials at the Betong border crossing in the southernmost province Yala are using handheld thermometers to screen suspected contaminanees. Meanwhile enhanced hygiene measures are being implemented at immigration checkpoints at all…
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Motorcycle ‘win’ drivers charge 380 baht for 4.7 kilometre trip through Bangkok
It’s not just tourists that get ripped off by the notorious Win drivers in Bangkok (The Thaiger is a regular Grab Bike user but has never had any specific problems with Win drivers). A win-motorcycle user (motorcycle taxi) has related a recent rip off on Thailand’s most popular website, Pantip. The user said they were traveling with another friend from Victory…
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Thai Airways’ pilot under investigation for botched landing at Frankfurt
A Thai Airways International pilot, flying for Thailand’s national flag carrier, is currently being investigated by Germany’s BFU (Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung), the country’s civil aviation investigators, for flying a Thai Airways plane below the standard altitude as the flight he was piloting, was approaching Frankfurt International Airport. The flight had originated in Phuket. The incident has been related through the…
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Dramatic video shows high speed impact, eight British tourists injured on their way to Pattaya – VIDEO
Dramatic highway CCTV has now been released of the crash of the passenger van, injuring eight British tourists travelling from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya. Three were seriously injured in the high speed crash which scattered contents of the van over the road and grassed verge between the two sides of the motorway. Eight British tourists are in hospital after their…
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Eight British tourists injured in Thai passenger van crash – VIDEO
Eight British tourists are in hospital, three seriously injured, after their passenger van crashed into the median railing on the Bangkok-Chon Buri motorway. The incident occurred about 10:30am on the Pattaya-bound side of the road. The driver, 53 year old Thanakorn To-iam, said he picked up the passengers at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok and was taking them to Pattaya when…
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New rules for Royal road motorcades around Thailand
His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has expressed concern about the motorcades of Royal Family members inconveniencing public road users. Around Thailand, when a member of the Royal Family travels by road, the roads are routinely closed off and hundreds of police stationed along the well-planned route to hold off traffic until the motorcade has passed through. Now HM The King…
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Thailand charges towards an electric car future, with a few speed bumps
Thailand has the biggest automotive industry in Southeast Asia and the 12th largest in the world. Most of those coming out of Thai factories, well just about all really, are standard internal combustion engines with a few ‘hybrid’ models sprinkled in there as well. The hybrids include electric motors and charging systems which saves fuel and load on the petrol engines. But there…
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And they’re off! Hundreds of thousands leave Bangkok for New Year break
PHOTO: Eleven Media Group Hundreds of thousands of Bangkok residents have already started heading out of the capital, headed to various Thai provinces to welcome in 2020 in the company of friends and family. The long weekends starts from tonight with many Thais being granted a public holiday on Monday, in addition to the Tuesday and Wednesday public holidays. It…
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Following months of gridlock, Pattaya roadworks suspended, roads re-opened for ‘silly season’
PHOTO: Pattaya Mail Following concerns raised by the Pattaya Tourism Association, all roadworks in Pattaya, which have ground the city to a halt in recent months, will be paused for the holiday period, with roads re-opened to allow traffic to flow more freely. The Pattaya News reports that at a meeting held with city officials yesterday, the Pattaya Tourism Association…
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Public hearings on Pattaya Tram Project start Monday
Whilst Phuket’s tram project has been shelved temporary, the much-discussed Pattaya tram project starts public hearings on Monday when the city hosts its first public sessions on the feasibility study. First proposed in 2016, the tram would make a circle around Beach Road and Second Road and then into Jomtien Beach. Finally however, with more funding now allocated and a…
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Phuket Light Rail project hits a few speed bumps
The Phuket Light Rail (Phuket Tram) project has hit a few hurdles and has been shelved, apparently temporarily, whilst some further studies are conducted into the ambitious public transport project. The proposed tram route was proposed to start at Phuket Airport and finish at the Chalong Intersection, with a total of 21 stations along the way. As president of the…
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