Airlines Open Southern Thai Routes

Airlines Open Southern Thai Routes

The Tourism Council of Chumphon recently welcomed Thai Air Asia’s maiden flight to the province. Situated on in southern Thailand on the west coast, Chumphon is a key destination for visitors travelling to Koh Samui by ferry or catamaran. The Tourism Council expressed hope that the new flight would boost the number of visitors travelling to the province.

Khun Suwarin Mayaseth, provincial tourism council chairman, said that service from the budget airline will make the province more accessible for tourists.

The first flight from Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport to Chumphon took place earlier this month. The flight will now operate on a daily basis, providing a convenient link for tourists visiting this part of Thailand.

The new network of flights will boost tourism in other provinces, too, including Prachuap, Khiri Khan and Ranong. Khun Witchunee Kuntapeng, who heads up Thai Air Asia’s operations department, said that the new route fulfils the government’s policy to promote secondary tourism destinations across Thailand.

Many visitors may choose to tie in their Chumphon trip with a stay in islands like Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao and recent talks amongst Thailand’s aviation officials also suggest the possibility of more flight paths being introduced to Surat Thani airport, another hub that enables visitors to access islands like Koh Samui.

According to Darun Saengchai, director-general of the department of aviation, several airlines have expressed an interest in launching routes from their home countries to Thailand. The Nation revealed that the talks have arisen as a result of the Routes Asia 2018 event that took place in Australia in March.

Due to high demand from tourists, Australia’s budget airline Jetstar Airways will investigate the possibility of launching a new route from Perth to Surat Thani.

“Jetstar has shown interest in the Gulf of Thailand in Surat Thani province. The airline has been very interested in this option and has asked to study tourism information,” he said.

There are already plans in the pipeline for more Surat Thani flights to be launched. Malaysia’s Malindo Air will open a new route from Kota Bharu to Surat Thani in June this year.

While Koh Samui is already home to its own international airport, which is situated in the northwestern part of the island, increasing demand amongst regional tourists means that airport hubs on the Thai mainland are becoming busier. Visitors flying into Surat Thani, for example, travel to Samui via a bus and ferry on a journey that takes just a couple of hours in total.