Business first, tourists later, say air chiefs

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) will begin talks on the resumption of international services with airline representatives on Tuesday, according to director-general Chula Sukmanop.

Priority will be given to business trips, with tourists from paired "travel bubble" countries being allowed in later, he said, adding that investors are ready to absorb costs related to the Covid-19 control measures such as a quarantine programme.

Mr Chula said he called in all airlines that operate international flights for discussions on measures to be implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The measures include social distancing on planes and at airports, guidelines for inflight food services and quarantine areas aboard planes for passengers who fall sick during flights, he said.

According to Mr Chula, international flights would first resume to serve people who have to supervise businesses in Thailand or overseas. They would have to be prepared for quarantine and possible medical treatment costs, he said.

The CAAT director-general said he does not expect the travel bubbles for foreign tourists proposal would be ready for implementation next month as there are several factors to be considered, including the Covid-19 situation in other countries and the cost-effectiveness of flight routes.

The CAAT has prolonged its ban on inbound and outbound commercial flights until June 30.

However, certain flights are still allowed to land, such as those involving state or military aircraft, Covid-19 humanitarian aid, medicine, emergency landings and the repatriation of Thais from overseas who are subject to a 14-day quarantine.

Meanwhile, Don Mueang airport expects to see a steady increase in passengers now that the curfew is lifted.

Currently, Don Mueang airport handles 148 flights per day.

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Vocabulary

  • absorb: to deal with changes, effects, costs, etc, in this case to pay a higher cost yourself - รับเอา, รับไว้
  • bubble (noun): a ball of air or gas in a liquid, or a ball of air inside a solid substance such as glass; a round ball of liquid, containing air, produced by soap and water - ฟอง
  • implementation: the process of making something such as a plan, system, idea or law start to work and be used - การบังคับใช้ (กฎหมาย)
  • investors (noun): people or organisations that invest money, i.e., use money with the aim of making a profit from it, for example by buying property or buying shares in a company - นักลงทุน
  • prolonged: to cause to continue for a long time - ยืดเวลาออกไป
  • proposal: a plan or suggestion for a group to consider - ข้อเสนอ
  • quarantine (noun): a situation in which a person or animal that might have a disease is kept separate from other people or animals so that they do not catch the disease - การกักบริเวณ, การจำกัดบริเวณ
  • repatriation (noun): sending someone back to a country that is legally their own - การส่งกลับประเทศ
  • resume: to begin again after stopping for a period of time - เริ่มอีกครั้ง, กลับมาอีกครั้ง
  • social distancing: avoiding groups of people in order to slow the spread of a disease -
  • supervise: to be in charge of an activity and to check that everything is being done correctly - ดูแล ควบคุม

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