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THAI Airways May Delay Flights To August 1

Published

10 months ago

12/06/2020

Ann Carter

THAI Airways May Delay Flights To August 1 | Samui Times

Thai Airways International (THAI) may be delaying its flight resumptions again until August 1.

The move, only a plan so far, would allow THAI to better prepare for a possible reopening of international flights by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT.)

Airline board member Pirapan Salirathavibhaga confirmed the plan after media reports cited a THAI source who told of the delay in reopening.

However, Mr Pirapan did not say whether flight schedules would be less in frequency as previous rumors have suggested.

The THAI source reportedly said that flights would be watered down and some countries would not be included in the new flight schedules.

Those countries reportedly include Italy, Moscow, Vienna, Oslo, Stockholm, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Sendai, Kathmandu and Colombo.

Mr Pirapan further said a decision about when THAI is able to return to the sky will not be unilateral as it will be made based on issues that may be beyond the airline’s control. He said the company has to think about passenger traffic flow after Covid-19 upon reopening.

He said now was not the right time to resume flights, which would largely be unprofitable, with experts agreeing that the industry remains unstable due to the ongoing pandemic affecting many countries.

The airline, saddled with 244 billion baht of outstanding debt, has sought protection from courts in several countries to keep creditors from impounding its assets including aircraft.

Meanwhile, airlines are expected to lose US$84.3 billion (2.6 trillion baht) for a net profit margin of -20.1% in 2020, which has been dubbed “the worst year in the history of aviation”, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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