Phuket bans domestic visitors amid Thai Delta surge

 

2021-07-29 HKT 23:21

 

Thailand's Phuket will ban travel from the rest of the country from August 3 to 16 to try to stop a surge in coronavirus cases from spreading to the resort island, but overseas visitors will be largely unaffected, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Phuket is at the heart of efforts to revive Thailand's tourism industry, a major revenue earner that has been devastated by the pandemic.

Since July 1, tourists fully vaccinated against Covid-19 have been allowed to move freely on the island, with no self-isolation on arrival, an initiative dubbed the "Phuket sandbox".

 

Read more: https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1603281-20210729.htm?spTabChangeable=0

 

i never undestood the logic of people from abroad having to quarantine when arriving in phuket but anyone from the rest of thailand not having to, the virus does not recognise international or domestic boundries

The current situation  in Thailand highlights the irrelevance of the current Phuket sandbox. The issue of possible contamination by vaccinated foreigners is ridiculously low compared to domestic contamination risk.

If domestic flights are banned then international arrivals will have difficulty gping elsewhere once their 14-15 days island quarantine is up.

I guess this is THE question facing a few, myself included.  Have another week to go in the "sandbox" then and a Bangkok Airways flight booked to BKK, where I had planned to spend four weeks attending to some personal issues, including follow-on med treatment.  IF domestic flights do not resume by then, are there any viable alternatives to get from Phuket to Bangkok?

 

thanks, RS

4 minutes ago, RickSee said:

I guess this is THE question facing a few, myself included.  Have another week to go in the "sandbox" then and a Bangkok Airways flight booked to BKK, where I had planned to spend four weeks attending to some personal issues, including follow-on med treatment.  IF domestic flights do not resume by then, are there any viable alternatives to get from Phuket to Bangkok?

 

thanks, RS

Check Nok Air,  Phuket to Utapao then taxi to BKK. 

5 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

Check Nok Air,  Phuket to Utapao then taxi to BKK. 

Thanks, will do.

7 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

Check Nok Air,  Phuket to Utapao then taxi to BKK. 

They indeed show flights starting from August 3.

And they have found a gold mine. Look at the prices (one way):

 

 

5300 Baht for a short flight cramped in an age old shabby plane

Not quite like last helicopter from Saigon but it reminds me.

49 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

They indeed show flights starting from August 3.

And they have found a gold mine. Look at the prices (one way):

 

 

5300 Baht for a short flight cramped in an age old shabby plane

Not quite like last helicopter from Saigon but it reminds me.

I've always stayed well clear of that airline anyway.........

On 7/31/2021 at 2:07 PM, RickSee said:

Thanks, will do.

Save your time.

Rayong (U-Tapao) is a deep red zone from tomorrow.

NokAir cancels all flights.