Thai Airways To Suspend Most International Flights By April Due To COVID-19 Outbreak

Thai Airways to cancel flights


Image adapted from: Thai Airways

After cancelling selected flights to high-risk locations in February, Thai Airways has decided to suspend most of its international routes since the situation took a dire turn. The cancellation of flights will last through 30th May this year.

Previously, Thai Airways suspended flights to selected destinations including Sapporo, Busan, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Milan, Vienna, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Dubai, and Auckland.


Cancellation started from Asian destinations


Osaka
Image credit: TTRWeekly

On 25th March 2020, Thailand’s national carrier stopped its services in the Asia-Pacific region including: 

  • Taiwan: Taipei
  • Japan:  Tokyo (Narita and Haneda), Osaka, and Nagoya
  • Hong Kong
  • South Korea: Seoul
  • Cambodia: Phnom Penh
  • Laos: Vientiane
  • Vietnam:  Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi 
  • Myanmar: Yangon
  • Singapore
  • Indonesia: Jakarta and Denpasar
  • China: Kunming, Xiamen, Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou
  • Pakistan: Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore Dhaka
  • Nepal: Kathmandu
  • Sri Lanka: Colombo

Image credit: HuffPost

Flights to Australian destinations – Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth – will be called off on 27th March 2020.

According to Bangkok Post, the flights to Cambodia will be cancelled on 1st April 2020, along with its Europe routes to London, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Oslo, Moscow and Stockholm. 

Thai Airways’ sister airline  ‘Thai Smile’
Image credit: Ryt9

For domestic flights to major cities including Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Krabi provinces, Thai Airways will hand them to its budget counterpart Thai Smile Airways.


Compensation for cancelled tickets


Image credit: Money

Passengers who are holding either Thai Airways and Thai Smile tickets issued before 25th March 2020 can exchange their tickets for travel vouchers, which are valid for one year, free of charge and without any additional fees.

However, the eligible tickets must be for flights from 25th March to 31st May 2020 on Asian routes; and from 1st April to 31st May on European, Australian and New Zealand routes.

Should you have any questions, contact the airline on their website or dial 02-356-1111. 

Carefully check your tickets if you’ve recently booked with the airline so you can get compensated. In the meantime, stay put and avoid travelling – be safe guys!

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Eddie Jirayu: