Direct flight between Istanbul and Phuket reopens

A direct flight into Phuket operated by Turkish Airlines has just reopened. The first flight of this renewed Istanbul to Phuket route landed on Saturday, according to the Phuket News. This is the first flight directly from Istanbul Airport, historically a major travel hub, since the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown disrupted international air travel.

The Turkish Airlines flight landed in Phuket on Saturday with 168 foreign visitors. Phuket News reports that airline staff were waiting in the terminal to welcome the tourists back to the island at last. Right now Turkish Airlines is maintaining 2 flights a week between Istanbul and Phuket, and is planning on increasing that number to 7 flights a week by next month. The airline is also running 9 flights a week from Istanbul to Bangkok.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand reported that over 2,000 foreigners arrived in Phuket on Saturday, from 12 different airlines. Those that host direct flights into Phuket now are Thai Airways, Aeroflot, Air Astana, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Finnair, Qatar Airways, El Al, Scoot, Jetstar, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and S7 Airlines.

The Tourism Authority added that the majority of arrivals are coming in via the ‘Test and Go’ scheme, as opposed to the previous Phuket Sandbox. A total of 16,659 arrived under Test and Go, whereas only 8,413 arrived for the Sandbox.

SOURCE: Phuket News