Winter flight schedule 2025: Thailand welcomes 255 new airlines!

Winter flight schedule 2025: Thailand welcomes 255 new airlines!

Thailand's aviation and tourism sectors are showing encouraging trends. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, known as CAAT, has confirmed that more than 255 airlines have been allocated flight slots in Thailand for the upcoming winter schedule. This new flight schedule, which is valid from October 26, 2025 to March 28, 2026, includes all major airports in the country and thus shows a noticeable recovery after the corona pandemic. Despite previous signs of a decline in arrivals from China, demand for international travel to Thailand has picked up sharply.

Air Chief Marshal Manat Chavanaprayoon explained that Suvarnabhumi Airport in particular is bearing the brunt of the allocations with 127 airlines, including 21 cargo carriers. Phuket Airport is also well positioned with 68 airlines, followed by Chiang Mai with 30 and Don Mueang with 17 airlines. Smaller airports such as U-Tapao and Samui bring up the rear, but still bring important connections to the region. Of particular note are the ten most important international routes to Thailand, which come mainly from China, India and the neighboring countries of Vietnam and Hong Kong.

Expanded capacities and slot reallocations

The positive development is further underlined by the applications from several airlines requesting a reallocation of flight slots in order to increase the frequency of their flights to Thailand. These proposals were presented during the 153rd Slot Conference in Dubai, organized by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This makes it possible for airlines to negotiate the best times at coordinated airports. Phuket Airport in particular plans to increase its capacity to 25 flights per hour, while Suvarnabhumi is expected to have its third runway operational by the middle of next year. This allows capacity to be increased from 68 to 94 flights per hour.

In this context, Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) achieved a net profit of 8.79 billion baht for 2025, a huge increase compared to the previous year. AoT CEO Kirati Kitmanawat highlights that all six airports under AoT's management have shown improved performance in the past period, reflecting an overall recovery in the aviation and tourism sectors.

Popularity of Thailand as a travel destination

Thailand remains one of the most popular destinations worldwide, with Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket regularly seeing high visitor numbers. According to an analysis by Euromonitor, Bangkok is one of the top 100 global travel destinations in 2024, at number 17. This is also reflected in the many attractions that attract tourists, from the majestic Royal Palace to the capital's numerous temples and shopping malls.

However, mass tourism also brings with it challenges such as environmental problems and the burden of waste and pollution. Despite these challenges, Thailand experienced a unique opportunity to regenerate nature during the Corona pandemic. The development of the tourism sector is impressive, with tourism revenues reaching 6.78 billion euros in 1995 and increasing to 57.50 billion euros by 2019.

It remains to be seen to what extent the industry will recover from the setbacks of recent years. But the signs are good that Thailand, with its rich culture, breathtaking landscapes and more than hospitable population, will continue to be an attractive destination for travelers.