Airfares from Thailand to Europe have surged by up to 100% due to airspace closures in the Middle East caused by the ongoing Israel–Iran conflict, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) on 4 March. The suspension of flights by eight Middle Eastern airlines has significantly reduced seat availability on these critical international routes.

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Previously handling over 10,000 passengers daily, Gulf carriers' suspension has led to soaring ticket prices for remaining flights. For example, one-way economy fares on Thai Airways International from Bangkok to London have jumped to over 70,000 baht, significantly higher than the usual 30,000 baht. Singapore Airlines has seen fares rise to around 58,000 baht, with many flights fully booked through the next week.

The CAAT attributed the price hike to an imbalance of strong travel demand against reduced flight offerings and noted that ticket pricing is influenced by competition and bilateral agreements, which are beyond their regulatory control. The regulator’s role is centered on aspects such as slot allocation and maintaining safety standards, without the authority to cap international fares.

Increased global oil prices are another concern, potentially driving up aviation costs further. Airlines affected by these disruptions might seek regulatory approval to increase fuel surcharges, which are part of the ticket price, although no such formal requests have been made yet.

Officials have engaged Emirates and Qatar Airways in discussions about assisting stranded passengers, focusing on accommodation, refunds, and rebooking due to airspace closures. The outcome of these talks is yet to be seen, reported Khaosod.

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  Adapted by ASEAN Now · Khaosod · 04 Mar 2026

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Thai Airways is always one of the most expensive airlines....Expensive tickets will cost surely tourists, more than expected.. The THB is still too strong and the total budget, the uncertainty of the Iranian War and surroundings makes things difficult to come on holiday to the far East.

I've got a return BKK-DOH-MAN flight booked for an 8 week trip to the UK from 28th March with Qatar (paid 86,000 for Business Class) so since the weekend have been looking at alternative flights that avoid the middle east & the cheapest Business Class I could find (Mixture of Thai & Turkish) was approx 235,000, cheapest economy ticket (IIRC it was with KLM) was 67,200.

If my flights do get cancelled I will see if I can get Qatar to book me on an alternative carrier (my dates are pretty fixed & the option of pushing them back 2 weeks doesn't work for me), if not I'll take a refund (or vouchers) & change my trip to September.

That is just gouging of the highest order !

A guy I know, who knows someone who met another guy in a bar.....said that airlines are taking bookings in the knowledge the flights are pure fantasy, holding the money on account then making refunds minus booking fees.

Clever.

these 80k flights are direct, looks be quite a few available for less than half..... when I select the 9th of march to fly one way.

Just the thieving bar stewards jumping on the bandwagon. They don't give a toss about the general public

Typical of Thailand and Thai Airways. Funny isnt it that I was quoted 71,000 baht on Monday because of "airspace" from Thai Airways yet Vietnam from Hanoi was only 32,000 return. Maybe they use different airspace or just that Thai are scammers. Either way I and I hope many others will never fly Thai again!

Blatant profiteering simple as that . Used to use them but got tired of poor service and always the highest price . Not surprised they're cashing in at customers expense , inherent in their top management DNA.

What's the betting that many of these airlines will not be reducing their fares once this unfortunate hiccup in costs has been left behind....

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The CAAT attributed the price hike to an imbalance of strong travel demand against reduced flight offerings and noted that ticket pricing is influenced by competition and bilateral agreements, which are beyond their regulatory control

I preder to call it price gouging.

I'm one of those stuck here and I just watched the prices get higher and higher while I was looking for a flight to London. I'd find a reasonable price but when I got to the payment screen, suddenly fould a price change adding another 10,000 baht or so to the price!

Eventually fould a flight from Phuket to LHR with Air Astana for this Saturday at just over 20,000 baht.

29 minutes ago, Nickthai said:

Typical of Thailand and Thai Airways. Funny isnt it that I was quoted 71,000 baht on Monday because of "airspace" from Thai Airways yet Vietnam from Hanoi was only 32,000 return. Maybe they use different airspace or just that Thai are scammers. Either way I and I hope many others will never fly Thai again!

Vietnam airways is doing it for half the price

10 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Vietnam airways is doing it for half the price

You are correct.

Thai is more pricey cos the fly direct to London, Vietnam airways is a transit stop in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.

They are both flying the same route to they both head north through China, then over Kazakhstan, Russia (if permitted), or Azerbaijan/Turkey, and finally into Europe.

This detour adds about 60 to 90 minutes of flight time and significantly more fuel. However, Thai Airways' direct flights are fully booked days in advance, allowing their automated pricing systems to push tickets to "emergency" levels.

Vietnam Airlines is still a bit of an "under-the-radar" secret for many travelers, so their seats haven't sold out as fast, keeping their prices closer to reality.

14 hours ago, Chalong circle said:

That is just gouging of the highest order !

That was my thought when I saw the headlines what I don't understand is how they can justify it or am I naive and they just need any excuse to gouge?

It's not just Thai Airways, they are all at it. Most European and Chinese airlines were just as bad when I was looking on Sunday.

15 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Thai Airways is always one of the most expensive airlines....Expensive tickets will cost surely tourists, more than expected.. The THB is still too strong and the total budget, the uncertainty of the Iranian War and surroundings makes things difficult to come on holiday to the far East.

Not only come to thailand, what about the people that have their flights canceled and can’t get a flight back, For most it’s urgent to leave , lots are families of 4 and more, impossible to find seats. So the most have to pay hotels in Bangkok or Phuket while waiting to be helped by their airlines. Costing a lot, and leaving bad memories of their holidays in Thailand, but accepting its no one’s fault but the madman Trump and his best mate Nettie.With all flights over Middle East canceled there are thousands still waiting a date. Go it alone, and it will cost you a fortune.

21 minutes ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

You are correct.

Thai is more pricey cos the fly direct to London, Vietnam airways is a transit stop in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.

They are both flying the same route to they both head north through China, then over Kazakhstan, Russia (if permitted), or Azerbaijan/Turkey, and finally into Europe.

This detour adds about 60 to 90 minutes of flight time and significantly more fuel. However, Thai Airways' direct flights are fully booked days in advance, allowing their automated pricing systems to push tickets to "emergency" levels.

Vietnam Airlines is still a bit of an "under-the-radar" secret for many travelers, so their seats haven't sold out as fast, keeping their prices closer to reality.

They’re full too this week. And for holiday families in Thailand nearly impossible to manage.

Good. Less drunk Euro trash and Brits.

Thank you TACO for another mess

Airfare Surge: Bangkok–London Economy Reaches 70,000 Baht

Here we go Again , People are being Ripped off for their misfortune that they can't travel the way they were suppose to travel.

Airlines are ,Absolutely Greedy Scamming non caring .

One would think that the Govment would step in and Stop those Airlines from extorting people .

25 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Airfare Surge: Bangkok–London Economy Reaches 70,000 Baht

Here we go Again , People are being Ripped off for their misfortune that they can't travel the way they were suppose to travel.

Airlines are ,Absolutely Greedy Scamming non caring .

One would think that the Govment would step in and Stop those Airlines from extorting people .

You’re right. In high seasons which guarantees higher booking numbers for the similar flight costs they increase ticket prices. Conversely in low seasons with fewer passengers whereby cost of flying becomes higher the ticket prices are lower. Conclusion is whenever they see opportunity to increase prices they do.

1 hour ago, madmitch said:

It's not just Thai Airways, they are all at it. Most European and Chinese airlines were just as bad when I was looking on Sunday.

That was the impression I had wen I was looking for a flight to LHR last night

I am sure there is an element of profiteering going on here

Thailand never misses an opportunity to gouge those quality tourist.

2 hours ago, Toby1947 said:

Just the thieving bar stewards jumping on the bandwagon. They don't give a toss about the general public

Nothing to do with the extra price of Oil/Aviation Fuel, and extra flight routing avoding the Middle East then

The ONLY ones to blame are america and Israel; competitors in the biggest terrorist states competition... This is the result of idiots in power!

3 minutes ago, JulesMad said:

The ONLY ones to blame are america and Israel; competitors in the biggest terrorist states competition... This is the result of idiots in power!

I blame the profiteering oil/airline companies.

There's no excuse for raising the price of existing fuel.

It would take around 6 months for crude from Iran to be on sale in the west as fuel.

Just another example of the dunce not only being totally incapable of bringing down prices in America as falsely promised, but making prices surge worldwide through his ridiculous tariffs and his completely unnecessary wars.

This highly dangerous man has to be stopped, and the sooner the better.

Still the same price London bkk. If anything the middle east carriers went down !

4 hours ago, Leopold Bloom said:

What's the betting that many of these airlines will not be reducing their fares once this unfortunate hiccup in costs has been left behind....

I’ll take that bet- shall we say 50k baht.?

It’s called dynamic pricing and is based on supply and demand - the same as anything including air fares. You’ve had an entire chunk of significant supply removed (the ME airline routes ) and the demand remains and is channeling to carriers not using that route. Once the ME routes are restored supply will be created and fares will drop to reflect that.

Gonna put your money where your mouth is..?

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I blame the profiteering oil/airline companies.

There's no excuse for raising the price of existing fuel.

It would take around 6 months for crude from Iran to be on sale in the west as fuel.

Then you don’t understand trading markets- they are based on what markets judge the price will be at a given point in the future. With 20% of the global oil supply choked off via the closure of the straits of Hormuz (40% of the Asian supply comes through that route) there’s going to be a significant shortage of supply. Would you sell something at the price it was yesterday when you KNOW it’s going to be much more expensive a few weeks down the road ?