With Koh Samui welcoming fully vaccinated travelers from around the world, the airline now flies thrice weekly to and from Singapore.
Photo: Bangkok Airways
Following the suspension of its international services for more than a year, Bangkok Airways resumed scheduled flights between Koh Samui and Singapore yesterday in anticipation of future demand for leisure travel from the Lion City. The carrier has deployed an Airbus A319 aircraft on the route to operate three flights a week, running on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The outbound service, flight PG961, departs Samui Airport at 3:05 p.m. and arrives in Singapore at 6 p.m., while flight PG962 takes off from Changi Airport at 7:30 p.m. to reach Koh Samui at 8:35 p.m., after just over two hours in the air.
Inspired by Phuket’s example, Koh Samui has reopened to fully vaccinated travelers from low- and medium-risk countries through the Samui Plus scheme since July 15. Passengers entering Thailand must carry documents including a Certificate of Entry, proof of a negative result for Covid-19 through a PCR test conducted within 72 hours of departure, and a vaccine certificate. Those going directly to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao will be exempt from mandatory quarantine, but overseas visitors must stay on the islands for at least 14 days before traveling to other regions in Thailand.
Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, President of Bangkok Airways, said in a statement, “We are more than delighted to announce the resumption of our first international flight after being on pause for a long while due to the pandemic. The Samui–Singapore route is anticipated to bring back confidence to Thailand’s tourism. We have assured that both Samui and Singapore have robust processes in place to ensure travels between the two places can be undertaken safely.”
Bangkok Airways is also operating twice-daily flights on a “sealed route” between Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and Koh Samui for international arrivals connecting in the Thai capital. But the latest provincial regulations in Phuket, which will seal off the island from the rest of the country for a two-week period, has forced the airline to suspend all flights between Samui and Phuket starting tomorrow (August 3) “until further notice.”
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