THAI looks at plan to delay flights until Aug 1

THAI has admitted it is looking to delay yet again the resumption of scheduled flights to Aug 1 although this is only a plan, said airline board member Pirapan Salirathavibhaga. Pirapan said the plan was being studied by the airline's commerce department and it would help the company prepare better in case the ban on international flights, imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) to contain Covid-19, is lifted. His remark came on the heel of media reports citing a THAI source who disclosed the airline would resume scheduled flights from Aug 1, a month later than originally planned. According to the source, the flights will restart over three days from Aug 1 through to Aug 3 with reduced services to fewer destinations. While Pirapan confirmed the Aug 1 resumption was on the drawing board, he stopped short of validating details of the reportedly "watered down" flight schedule. For example, flights to Singapore, which THAI operated several times per day before Covid-19 forced the airline to ground all of its flights in March, will be reduced to four per week. Similar cuts are also expected for flights to high-traffic cities including Tokyo, the source said.<br/>