Thai Airways will temporarily suspend more international flights to destinations in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.
Starting March 25, Thailand’s flag carrier will stop flying to Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo (Narita and Haneda), Osaka, Nagoya, Seoul, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Yangon, Singapore, Jakarta, Denpasar, Kunming, Xiamen, Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Karachi, Kathmandu, Lahore, Dhaka, Islamabad and Colombo.
The airline added that its domestic flights to Chiang Mai, Phuket and Krabi will be transferred to and operated by its low-cost regional wing Thai Smile Airways.
The carrier will suspend flights to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth from March 27.
Starting April 1, the airline said it will cancel “most of its flights” to Europe. Affected destinations will include London, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Oslo, Moscow and Stockholm.
The airline previously suspended flights to Sendai, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Busan, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Milan, Vienna, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Muscat, Dubai, and Auckland. These flights remain suspended.
Thai Airways said affected passengers holding Thai Airways and Thai Smile Airways codeshare flight tickets for travel on Asian routes between March 25 and May 31 this year, and for travel to European, Australian and New Zealand routes from April 1 to May 31 this year, can convert unused tickets to travel vouchers valid for one year without fees and surcharges.
It added that members of its frequent flyer programme Royal Orchid Plus who are holding award tickets issued for travel between March 25 to May 1 can fully re-credit mileages or change the travel date without any fee or charge. Expired miles have been extended until September 30, 2020.
The carrier said passengers can check flight schedules and make changes to itineraries themselves on its website, while its Royal Orchid Plus members can contact its sales offices or visit its members’ website for ticket adjustments or more information.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, all foreign nationals entering or transiting via Thailand need to present a health certificate certifying that they pose no risk of being infected by Covid-19 with laboratory test results issued no more than 72 hours prior to departure.
It added that non-Thai nationals entering Thailand are also required to present a health insurance document that shows minimum medical coverage of US$100,000 in Thailand and the Covid-19 pandemic.
All inbound travellers to Thailand need to fill in the T8 questionnaire and present this to disease control officers at the quarantine office in their destination’s airport in Thailand. They are also required to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine upon arrival.
A number of airlines, such as Qantas, Virgin Australia, Vietnam Airlines, HK Express, Emirates and Etihad, have suspended international flying or even all services due to the spread of Covid-19 and the increasing number of border closures around the world.
