BANGKOK, 18 December 2024: Eight international airlines launched direct flights to Thailand’s four main tourism gateway destinations — Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai in 2024 — and three more are lining up direct flights in 2025. That’s an impressive 11 airlines adding direct flights in 2024/2025.
Thailand Conventions and Exhibitions Bureau says it is “heartened by the increased flight connectivity between our MICE* cities and diverse overseas markets”.
The four major cities that have gained direct flights welcome more visitors from Europe, Central Asia, Sub-Continent, East Asia, and the Middle East. In the long run, they will draw more meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibition delegates to convene in Thailand.
On 28 October, British Airways resumed direct flights between London and Bangkok, starting with three flights weekly and increasing to five in January and February 2025 and then reducing to four in March for the remainder of the year.
Italy’s ITA Airways started direct flights between Rome and Bangkok on 17 November with five weekly flights. On 1 December, Thai Airways International resumed direct flights between Bangkok and Brussels.
Norse Atlantic Airways schedules direct flights between Stockholm and Bangkok starting 29 October 2 2025.
Phuket welcomed new flights in 2024. Air India launched a second daily flight (except Wednesday) from Delhi to Phuket on 1 June, while Air India Express will start four flights a week direct from Surat to Phuket on 24 December.
On 26 October, Air Astana started direct flights from Astana to Phuket. Likewise, Saudia Airlines began its inaugural Riyadh-Phuket flight on 2 December and Jeddah-Phuket flight on 4 December.
In northern Thailand, Chiang Mai welcomed direct flights launched by Hong Kong Airlines on 27 October, making it the third airline operating direct flights between Chiang Mai and Hong Kong. The other two are Thai Air Asia and Hong Kong Express.
On 4 November 2025, Etihad Airways will introduce four weekly direct flights from Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai.
Pattaya welcomes S7 Airlines, which will fly five weekly direct flights starting 30 March 2025. Landing at U-Tapao Airport 32 km south of the resort city, flights from Irkutsk in Russia will operate from March to May.
While most of the new services cater to leisure travellers, the message is clear to business events organisers: Booking flights to Thailand’s MICE destinations is easier than ever.
“It is proof of Thailand’s status as a preferred destination for travellers from around the globe,” said TCEB president Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya. “The four MICE cities are prime destinations in Thailand, where TCEB is working with stakeholders to develop and craft new products for MICE planners and travellers.”
*MICE: Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions.
We would say the increasing flights to all the mentioned destinations create more tourism benefit to Thailand not for only MICE because MICE is only a sector in tourism industry.