Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob will visit Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi international airport this Friday to check the preparedness to cope with the easing of restrictions on overseas arrivals from May 1st, as mandated by the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) last Friday.

The minister said yesterday that new measures have been put in place for overseas arrivals and airlines. They are:

• Fully vaccinated passengers can enter Thailand without any COVID-19 testing upon arrival. Passengers are, however, advised to take rapid antigen tests if they develop any symptoms.
• Any passenger who is not vaccinated or partially vaccinated can take an RT-PCR test within 72 hours of departure and can enter Thailand without testing upon arrival. If the passenger does not have the negative pre-departure test result upon arrival, they will be subject to quarantine of 5 days and will undergo an RT-PCR test on the 4th or 5th day during the quarantine.
• Every visitor must have COVID-19 insurance coverage of no less than US$10,000 valid throughout their stay in Thailand.
• Passengers must apply for a “Thailand Pass”, in which they are asked to provide proof of vaccination and insurance before their travel to Thailand and must have received their QR Code, to be shown to their airlines, without which the airlines can prevent them from boarding the plane. If any passengers are found to be without a QR Code upon arrival in Thailand, the airlines will be held responsible for flying the passengers back to their point of departure.
• All airports and relevant agencies must strictly comply with the requirements and other safety measures, such as the wearing of face masks and temperature screening at all entry and exit points.

Saksayam also said that, on May 1st, a virtual meeting of senior officials of Suvarnabhumi and five other airports will be held, during which a briefing on Thailand’s preparedness for the reopening of the country will be given.

The number of international arrivals is rising steadily following a gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions. Over 336,000 arrivals were recorded during April 1st – 25th, compared to approximately 273,000 travelers recorded in March.