With the first flight arriving on May 31, the new route was opened just in time for the low season. Since November last year, tourists from India can enjoy a visa-exemption scheme for trips to Thailand. Yet no additional direct flights to Phuket had been launched in 2024 until May 31.
Passengers were given a warm welcome by Airports of Thailand (AOT) officials, a rare event for Phuket International Airport in 2024 as new routes are seldomly opened. The welcome was appreciated as the plane arrived one hour late due to delayed take off in Delhi.
The daily flights, designated SG89/SG90 (to Phuket and from respectively), are operated using A320 aircraft. Travellers from Delhi are scheduled to land in Phuket at 3.15pm, with return flights scheduled to take off at 4.15pm.
As noted by the AOT’s ground service operator AOTGA, SpiceJet is the second-largest airline in India. As of February 2024, SpiceJet served 73 destinations, including 60 domestic and 13 international ones.
The company’s fleet of passenger aircraft nears 100 airliners. The A320 on the Delhi-Phuket route has been leased from Sky Angkor Airlines and still shows a Cambodian flag. The company operates only two Airbus aircrafts relying mostly on Boeing jets to serve it’s international routes.
Tickets from Delhi to Phuket are available for booking though the company’s official website for as low as B6,565 including all taxes and fees.
The new route is hoped to help support direct arrivals from India to Phuket, which have been stagnating despite all the visa incentives by the Royal Thai Government.
In January and February 2024, the island recorded 48,369 direct arrivals from India (around 24,170 per month on average), showing a decline from 28,431 in March 2023, the healthiest month of the previous year.
During January and February this year, direct arrivals of Indian nationals to Phuket accounted for only 15% of total Indian arrivals to Thailand.
The daily average stood at 806 Indian nationals passing through immigration control at Phuket International Airport, compared to 4,116 Russians and 3,302 Chinese per day.