Thai AirAsia resumes Suvarnabhumi flights to Phuket, Chiang Mai and Krabi

Thai AirAsia resumed flights from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport to Phuket, Chiang Mai and Krabi on 1 October after a two-and-a-half-month suspension.

The airline is operating up to six flights a day to Chiang Mai, five to Phuket and two to Krabi. Thai AirAsia said the first flights on the three routes recorded a combined load factor of more than 82%.

The restored services give passengers travelling between Bangkok and the three destinations a choice of Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang airports. Don Mueang remains Thai AirAsia’s main Bangkok base and serves 22 domestic destinations.

Thai AirAsia suspended all nine of its domestic routes from Suvarnabhumi between 15 July and 30 September, citing sharply higher aviation fuel costs and weaker mid-year travel demand. The flights were moved to Don Mueang during the suspension.

The return to Suvarnabhumi currently covers only Chiang Mai, Phuket and Krabi. Before the suspension, the airline also operated flights from the airport to destinations including Buri Ram, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani and Udon Thani.

Thai AirAsia plans to increase domestic capacity to as many as 135 flights a day between October and December, more than 50% above the third quarter’s peak average of 88 daily services.

From 25 October, Phuket is also scheduled to gain direct Thai AirAsia services to Khon Kaen and Udon Thani. The restored routes allow passengers arriving on international flights at Suvarnabhumi to connect with Phuket, Chiang Mai and Krabi without transferring to Don Mueang.