Qatar Airways is going all-in on the Phuket sandbox plan to reopen the tourist island to international travellers on July 1. The airline has confirmed that they will run flights 4 times per week between the Qatari capital city of Doha and Phuket. This new route is in addition to the airline’s current 12 flights a week to Bangkok.
The flights will be run using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a large plane capable of carrying a total of 254 passengers to Phuket, 232 in Economy Class and 22 in Business Class. The airline said in a press release yesterday that they believe the Bangkok and Phuket routes will connect the Middle East, Europe and the United States to Thailand.
The flights will leave Doha at 2:55 am on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, arriving in the afternoon at Phuket International Airport at 1:30 pm. Return flights will leave Phuket 13 hours later, at 2:30 am, the early mornings of Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
The Chief Executive of Qatar Airways said the relaunch of flights to Phuket from Qatar a milestone in international tourism’s recovery. He also noted that Qatar Airways has been industry leaders in customer service, safety and innovation during the Covid-19 pandemic.