Only direct flights to Mae Hong Son were no longer offered by Nok Air. The airline claimed they were losing money and chose to cease the flights starting on April 19.Since Nok Air was the only airline offering commercial service to the airport, the province where the well-known tourist destination of Pai is located will only be accessible by road.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is helping to tackle the issues brought on by the flight cancellations, according to the president of the Mae Hong Son Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Chanakhet Boonyakhan. She also stated she would try to persuade Bangkok Airways to fly to the province.
At the now, there are only three rural roads from Chiang Mai that tourists can use to travel to the province.The airline claimed that because it is replacing its fleet of smaller Boeing 787-800s with larger Boeing 787-800s, which are powered by turboprop engines, it will no longer be able to fly the Don Mueang-Mae Hong Son route.
Boonyakhan said that a Boeing 737-800 could land on the airport’s 30-by-2,000-meter runway because Thai Airways previously flew to Mae Hong Son with a Boeing 747-400, a big aircraft.
According to a statement from the airline, Nok Air experienced financial losses from operating the 50-seat De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q400 aircraft for eight years due to high maintenance costs and weak competitiveness.
