Phuket Airport soars as Russians jet in while China jets off
Phuket Airport is flying high despite a sharp drop in Chinese tourists, with Russian and Turkish travellers stepping in to keep the island’s tourism industry cruising toward a record-breaking 18 million passengers this year.
Phuket International Airport is on course to welcome a whopping 18 million passengers in 2025, even as the number of Chinese arrivals nosedives, according to airport boss Monchai Tanode.
“We’re now seeing around 1,000 to 2,000 Chinese tourists a day, down from over 3,000 during the peak season.”
Monchai added that Russia has now overtaken China as Phuket’s top source of visitors.
Between April 1 and 21, the airport logged an average of 1,370 Chinese arrivals daily, based on figures from Airports of Thailand (AOT).
Several Chinese airlines, including Spring Airlines, China Southern, Shanghai Airlines, and China Eastern, have scrapped flights, with both chartered and scheduled services being cut.
The downturn has been blamed on growing safety fears among Chinese tourists, particularly linked to high-profile call centre scams that have soured travel sentiment.
Despite the slump, Phuket is far from grounded. Russian and Turkish visitors continue to arrive in strong numbers, with airlines like Turkish Airlines helping to make up for the seasonal reduction in Russian charters by Ikar Airlines and Azur Air.
Phuket Airport saw 17,895 international flights in the first quarter alone, almost matching 2019’s pre-pandemic level of 18,036. International passenger numbers surged to 3.5 million, beating the 3.28 million recorded in the same period of 2019.
Domestic traffic is also bouncing back, with 1.8 million passengers and 13,152 flights, 89% and 97% of 2019’s figures respectively.
To prepare for the future, the airport is sketching plans for a new international terminal that will boost capacity by 5 million passengers a year. The design phase is under way, with construction expected to begin by 2027 and wrap up within three years.
Meanwhile, the proposed Andaman Airport is still in the feasibility study phase but promises two runways and capacity for 22.5 million passengers annually once complete.
And that’s not all: AOT is rolling out the red carpet for investors, with plans to open up 2,512 rai of land around six airports, including Phuket, for real estate development, Bangkok Post reported.
The move is expected to rake in at least 28.8 billion baht in investment as the company looks to beef up its property income, which currently accounts for just 0.2% of annual revenue.
So while China cools off, Phuket’s tourism machine is still firing on all engines and there’s plenty more runway ahead.
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