By Bhuva Chira, Sanook.com
PHUKET Airport got the go-ahead from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) to reopen for mainly domestic flights but also some international flights that obtain special permission from May 16 at 00.01 a.m. onward, Sanook.com reported this evening (14.5.2020).
Most foreign flights are still barred from landing at this popular island’s airport until May 31 at 23.59 p.m.
CAAT Director General Chula Sukmanop signed the announcement which states that the reopening of this airport is tied to important conditions and timings.
The approval was given after Phuket Governor Pakkapong Tawipat and the island’s Communicable Disease Committee agreed at a meeting on May 13 that the airport again open as the spread of the coronavirus pandemic had been controlled.
Travellers are required to prepare and submit all their personal identification documents for submission to the airport staff in the event it is necessary to monitor them for medical procedures.
CAAT also divided Thai airports currently open for service into two categories as follows:
- Open for domestic flights only are airports in Nan, Phitsanulok, Phrae, Mae Sot, Mae Hong Son, Lampang, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Phanom, Buriram, Roi Et, Loei, Sakon Nakhon, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Chumphon, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Ranong.
- Open for both domestic and international flights, aside from Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports in Bangkok, are those in Krabi, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Mae Fah Luang – Chiang Rai, Samui, Surat Thani, Hat Yai, Hua Hin and U-Tapao – Pattaya.
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Top: An airplane flying away from Phuket after taking off from the island’s airport in the days before the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Phuket@photographer.net (CC BY 2.0)
