Phuket International Airport getting ready for reopening
Phuket International Airport is readying for the island’s reopening by beginning the vaccination process of all employees. The mandatory inoculations is hoped to increase confidence among foreign visitors, as many who have received a Covid vaccine, can now enter the island with relaxed quarantine measures.
“The CCSA has now approved relaxed quarantine conditions for tourists who have been vaccinated and test negative for Covid-19 to visit Thailand from April 1. 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 00:01am on April 1.”
Phuket was given the green light to reopen for international visitors from July 1, with those who are vaccinated, being approved to skip the once-mandatory quarantine (if the island can vaccinate 70% of the population by that time). However, those foreigners arriving from countries that have seen Covid-19 virus variants, or are highly-infected, may not be able to enjoy a reduced quarantine or even skip the quarantine, even if vaccinated.
The government plans to test the reopening plan in Phuket 3 months before other key tourist hot spots, like Koh Samui, to help restart the tourism industry, that was battered for over a year, without its millions of tourists who contributed to 1/5 of the economy before the pandemic. Koh Samui, following Phuket, is also asking for approval to allow foreign travellers to skip quarantine requirements. Thailand is expected to fully reopen to vaccinated travellers in October.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
