Image: TAT

 

By The Phuket News

 

PHUKET: THAI Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Qatar Airways will fly to Phuket at least once a week from July 1, according to information shared with major tour operators by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

 

Although Phuket airport has yet to confirm the news, Swiss travel agency Thailand Reisen Reber has confirmed that THAI Airways flight TG973 will depart Zurich at 1:30pm on Saturdays and land in Phuket at 5:55am on Sundays.

 

The flight will be provided by a Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner with 256 seats; 22 in Royal Silk Class and 234 in Economy Class.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/direct-flights-to-phuket-to-start-july-1-80180.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2021-06-01

 

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Seeing is believing.

Cross your fingers.

apart from all the hoops to jump through and the likely very expensive accomodation along with all the do's and don't restrictions - people also need to consider what their home countries will be requiring when they go back home from a country currently in the middle of spreading covid pandemic 

 

I think there will be a lot of empty planes

6 minutes ago, smedly said:

I think there will be a lot of empty planes

Why would someone from Europe come to Phuket in July?

Plenty growing options for some beach/island holidays on the continent with much better weather to expect.

Still I hope they can demonstrate that it works in general with perspective for a wider October opening.

and how many rooms are booked already??? It is more important than flights

Can't see any direct flight to a neighboring country. Looking forward to a sweet visa-run future.

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

Seeing is believing.

Cross your fingers.

 

I wonder if the TG international creditors have agreed?

26 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

I wonder if the TG international creditors have agreed?

Flying planes with few passengers is not going to go down well at all with the creditors.

2 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Why would someone from Europe come to Phuket in July?

 

Pussy

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Although Phuket airport has yet to confirm the news, Swiss travel agency Thailand Reisen Reber has confirmed that THAI Airways flight TG973 will depart Zurich at 1:30pm on Saturdays and land in Phuket at 5:55am on Sundays.

Only if it has passengers onboard.

2 hours ago, friendofthai said:

Can't see any direct flight to a neighboring country

 

For reference, and advertised alongside this OP on TVF here in Cambodia:-

 

Kiwi.com

(2 examples quoted - one way fare).  At Bangkok DMK you are in transit ONLY. The problem is trying to enter Phnom Penh where strict rules of entry are still maintained, including quarantine and insurance. Also note (as at 1 June 2021);-

 

The Cambodian authorities are no longer issuing visas on arrival and all E-visas are suspended until further notice.

 

Sun 4 Jul

Phnom Penh PNH  Bangkok DMK Phuket City HKT

Thai AirAsia

$ 146

Fri 2 Jul

Phnom Penh PNH  Bangkok DMK  Phuket City HKT

Multiple carriers

$ 133

Question. Will the COE/ certificate of entry  and stack of paperwork still be required for permission to go to Phuket? I imagine the answer will change daily ????????‍♂️

Joke of the day !

6 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Why would someone from Europe come to Phuket in July?

 

School holidays for a lot (if not most) of Europe?

Why all this noise about Phuket? Schools and businesses in Bangkok and all over the country are still closed or in chaos; get the country moving again before lining the pockets of a few crims on one small island.

 

Some clarity this week would be the only way I could see 1st July working, there was noise about the announcement coming 1st June (confirming conditions, CoE etc..), then it was 2nd, now there talk about CCSA and TAT on 4th and something in the gazette mid June. Time is slowly creeping up on this proposed plan.

 

 

 

 

According to Thaiger everything looks exactly the same as to the myriad of requirements needed before you set foot on the plane except the location you may arrive at ???? 

Last i heard nothing open in punket and with covid knocking around staff who have left that includes pussy wont want to travel the rest who are unvacinated wont work, only from home.

Tourists wont fly to empty resorts on 1/2 empty planes besides lots of rain monsoon season.

watching the "euros" live in a european resort will be more crac late opening bars.

Police looking to nab you without masks mafia taxi rip off bar closures on a whim.

open but not...

What Thailand is desperately trying to do is force a square peg into a round hole by really going out of their way half cocked to entice a measly number of tourists to Thailand... those glory days of Phuket full the the brims with tourists are long gone for now, maybe in a year or two they will be back... Maybe...

14 hours ago, nglodnig said:

School holidays for a lot (if not most) of Europe?

A very very small market.

Just a few Thai related families would consider such a long expensive trip to a probably rainy island.

So many cheaper sun destinations in Europe at this time.

 

If it is usable as a gate to Thailand for a long stay(?) (7 day "island quarantine" instead of hotel quarantine) it might attract some.

5 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

A very very small market.

Sorry to disagree, but in Switzerland (where my children went to school) taking kids out of school during term time involves a massive fine. The only practical time for a month long holiday is therefore summer time. I know of many families (some without any Thai connections whatsoever) do the trip during that time, the only break that is more than two weeks long in the school calendar. Similarly in the UK - I used to take them out of school the beginning of December because (certainly in primary school) they don't do much anyway - all parties and stuff - but that is now not allowed without pressing reason.

4 hours ago, nglodnig said:

The only practical time for a month long holiday is therefore summer time.

Did I challenge that?

But how many will come to Phuket?

Have you thought about the hurdles?

Direct flights to Phuket only.

Vaccination (certificate), 14 days after full vaccination, CoE from embassy (likely), Covid insurance (highly likely), test on arrival, selected "plus" hotels only, test on day 5, one day excursion to neighboring islands from day 5 with selected operators only, free to go after day 7.

"Plus" App to be installed/used. Certificates/test results to be taken with you on trips out of Phuket.

The details are not yet fixed. To be announced in two weeks.

Great for holiday planning.

 

I will come back to the topic mid August.

praying for when this world of hurt eases off on us all... 

 

Richard Barrow wrote after meeting with TAT, that in BKK there would be terminal for connecting to Phuket on a special plane.

So no need to fly directly to Phuket, which has poor connection to the world.

That way TG will have chance to fly to many more destinations around the world and offer competitive rate to those flying directly to Phuket.

But the rule of staying in Phuket changed from 7 to 14 days. 

Also need to book SHA+ hotel (so far 4k hotels in this project, but I would think many also outside Phuket), even if somebody has it's own house or wants airbandb for long stay. Somebody mentioned those hotels are not budget, in range 2-3k per night

On 6/1/2021 at 7:52 PM, Disparate Dan said:

Why all this noise about Phuket? Schools and businesses in Bangkok and all over the country are still closed or in chaos; get the country moving again before lining the pockets of a few crims on one small island.

 

 

Because Phuket's an island with very limited and easily controlled points of ingress and egress.

 

On the other hand, Bangkok is a fetid petri dish.

On 6/2/2021 at 3:44 AM, asiam110 said:

Some clarity this week would be the only way I could see 1st July working, there was noise about the announcement coming 1st June (confirming conditions, CoE etc..), then it was 2nd, now there talk about CCSA and TAT on 4th and something in the gazette mid June. Time is slowly creeping up on this proposed plan.

 

 

 

If the super-organized and efficient Boris Johnson can change Portugal from green to amber with 4-days notice and hasn't made any commitment to England's grand reopening that's only 15 days away, why on earth would we expect the Thai crystal ball to be any clearer a month before their own "D-day"?

On 6/2/2021 at 7:42 PM, KhunBENQ said:

Vaccination (certificate), 14 days after full vaccination, CoE from embassy (likely), Covid insurance (highly likely), test on arrival, selected "plus" hotels only, test on day 5, one day excursion to neighboring islands from day 5 with selected operators only, free to go after day 7.

 

I see absolutely nothing arduous in your interpretation of the current rules and requirements as they stand. If I have the choice between a 7-day, island-wide quarantine in Phuket before I can go home to Udon versus a 15-day lock-down in a Bangkok hotel, I'm all for the Phuket break.

On 6/2/2021 at 5:06 AM, tomyami said:

watching the "euros" live in a european resort will be more crac late opening bars.

 

Have a fun "euros live" vacation in Gibraltar.

 

Iceland is awesome but I hear the Faroe's are nice this week.

 

All of the countries on the green list are:

 

Israel

Singapore

Australia

New Zealand

Brunei

Iceland

Gibraltar

Falkland Islands

Faroe Islands

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

St Helena, Tristan de Cunha, Ascension Island

 

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

If I have the choice between a 7-day, island-wide quarantine in Phuket before I can go home to Udon

You are likely in the category of "expat"/"family related".

Much different from a normal Thailand holiday maker.

 

And don't forget: in the meantime the 7 day Phuket island quarantine has been stretched to 14 days.

 

11 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

You are likely in the category of "expat"/"family related".

Much different from a normal Thailand holiday maker.

 

And don't forget: in the meantime the 7 day Phuket island quarantine has been stretched to 14 days.

 

 

Cool. So I can have a 14-day, island-wide quarantine. I'll get the family 'imported' beforehand.