Soaring popularity: Tourists pose for pictures on the Mai Khao Beach as an airplane prepares to land at Phuket International Airport. Foreign tourist arrivals more than doubled last year to 28 million. — AFP
BANGKOK: Eight new Thai airlines are set to start operations as the tourism-reliant nation expects a sustained recovery in leisure travel to draw about 35 million foreign visitors this year.
Really Cool Airlines, which plans to offer scheduled services on medium-to-long haul international routes, is among the companies which have won Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit’s approval for operator licences.
This is according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.
The carriers have also been permitted to import a total of 60 aircraft, it said in a statement.
The new operators will compete with carriers including Thai Airways International Pcl, which is firming up an order for as many as 80 jets from Boeing Co, and Asia Aviation Pcl, for a share of the more than 130 million passengers expected to travel through the nation’s main six airports this year.
Foreign tourist arrivals more than doubled last year to 28 million after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s administration waived visa requirements for travellers from its key markets like China and India.
Really Cool Airlines, founded by Patee Sarasin, a former chief executive of budget carrier Nok Airlines Pcl, will commence chartered flight services in March.
It plans to initially operate flights to Japan and aims to serve additional Asian destinations, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, during the first two years, Patee had said in November.
Other airlines planning to begin operations this year include Pattaya Airways, Asian Aerospace Service, Avanti Air Sarter, Siam Seaplane and Asia Atlantic Airlines, The Nation newspaper reported.
The recovery of Thailand’s tourism industry is a positive sign for the country’s economy. Tourism is a major source of income for Thailand, and it is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. —Bloomberg
