Thai Airways ready to carry foreign tourists

Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) is ready to arrange special direct charter flights from six countries and territories to Phuket under the government’s plan to revive the subdued tourism sector, said THAI acting president Chansin Treenuchagron on August 27.

Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) is ready to arrange special direct charter flights from six countries and territories to Phuket under the government’s plan to revive the subdued tourism sector, said THAI acting president Chansin Treenuchagron on August 27.

The six countries and territories are Denmark, Germany, the UK, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan and Hong Kong (China).

The airline can make two flights per month on each of these routes, Chansin said.

THAI is expected to begin these special flights in late November. The airline will even increase the flights on these routes if it sees rising demand, he said.

It is also expected to make special charter flights from China to Phuket.

Chansin said THAI has attached the utmost importance to the security and health of passengers on all these routes.

Tourism businesses have asked the government to open the country to some groups of foreigners to help boost the struggling sector, which is suffering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on August 26 that he was in talks with state agencies on how to open the country to foreign tourists once the pandemic situation improves./.

Source - PattayaNews
 

UK's Heathrow Airport passenger numbers down 88% amid ongoing travel restrictions

 

 

 

 Britain's Heathrow Airport renewed its call for COVID-19 testing at airports on Tuesday as it reported an 88 percent plunge in July passenger numbers due to ongoing restrictions on travel which it said were strangling the UK economy.

Heathrow, which is owned by a group of investors including Spain's Ferrovial, the Qatar Investment Authority and China Investment Corp, said 60 percent of Heathrow's route network remained grounded, requiring passengers to quarantine for 14 days on arrival.

Despite thousands of Britons holidaying overseas after months of lockdown, the government has already reimposed quarantine on arrivals from Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Bahamas and Andorra.

Last week finance minister Rishi Sunak said the government would not hesitate to add more countries to its quarantine list when asked whether France could also join it.

However, Heathrow believes airport testing of passengers could safely keep routes open and restart others to help the UK's economic recovery.

"Tens of thousands of jobs are being lost because Britain remains cut off from critical markets such as the US, Canada and Singapore," said Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye.

"The government can save jobs by introducing testing to cut quarantine from higher risk countries, while keeping the public safe from a second wave of COVID."

Over 860,000 passengers traveled through Heathrow in July - down 88 percent on the previous year, but a slight uplift in traffic since the start of the pandemic, driven by the UK government's creation of the first "travel corridors" on July 4.

Source - TheJakartaPost