Thailand: Airlines seek July reopening date

Covid-19 vaccinations for airline workers have to proceed within the next two months to be aligned with the tourism sandbox in Phuket aiming for July, says the Airlines Association of Thailand (AAT). "A tourism rebound will largely depend on the pace of inoculations which can build confidence among both workers and passengers," said Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, AAT president. The AAT consists of seven local airlines; Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X, Thai Smile Airways, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet with a total combined workforce of 16,000. He said airline operators would like the reopening plan to be implemented within July instead of waiting until October, according to the government plan. The tourism sandbox which has a clear timeline will allow airlines to prepare for flights to low-risk countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and neighbouring countries. Puttipong, also Bangkok Airways president, said if the country can reopen by Oct 1, the airline capacity for international routes in December will gradually increase to 20% from zero. The airline is also considering joining the test run of the IATA Travel Pass, a digital health certificate for international travel. THAI Airways International and THAI Smile Airways have already joined this project.<br/>