According to a senior Thai Airways International (THAI) official, it is getting harder to get Thai nationals out of Israel as a result of the Israeli government stepping up security around the nation and at its airports.
Although THAI does not have a problem repatriating Thais, it is having to change its plans by flying to other airports in the United Arab Emirates or Jordan to pick them up, instead of at the airport in Tel Aviv, according to THAI Chief Executive Officer Chai Eamsiri, who made the announcement yesterday (Wednesday). He did not name the airlines, though.
He gave the assurance that the Thai Foreign Ministry and its mission in Israel have been working to find a solution.
To pick up 140 Thai nationals in the United Arab Emirates, a Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) Airbus 340–500 took off from Bangkok on Wednesday night. The RTAF’s fourth flight is scheduled to return to Bangkok today, Thursday.
Regarding THAI’s operations, Chai stated that the conflict between Israel and Hamas has not yet had an impact on the airline’s services in the Middle East and Europe. She did, however, point out that, for the fourth quarter, advance ticket sales on routes to Europe and Australia averaged roughly 70% of capacity and peaked at roughly 80%, while sales on flights between Thailand and China averaged roughly 50%.
The committee tasked with resolving THAI’s internal and financial issues was headed by Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, according to a directive issued earlier this week by the Thai cabinet.
According to Chai, THAI has been regularly informing the cabinet about the status of the airline’s recovery strategy.
The airline, which suffered sizeable losses that the COVID-19 epidemic made worse, has put in place a court-approved rehabilitation plan.
