Being the first reception point for foreign arrivals participating in the Phuket Sandbox, Phuket Airport has put in place a range of stringent measures to ensure the health and safety of the province’s visitors and suppression of COVID-19.
With foreign tourists allowed to enter Phuket from July 1st, 2021, Phuket Airport has had to prepare processes for the vetting of paperwork to do with COVID-19 immunity.
Tourists arriving in the Kingdom must first have their temperatures checked. From there they will be asked to present their vaccine certification, COVID-19 insurance coverage, and proof of a reservation at an SHA Plus place of accommodation and be asked to download the Thailand Plus and Mor Prom applications. These steps will precede standard immigration checks, baggage collection and customs clearance. As a final step arrivals have to pass an RT-PCR swab test, after which they must proceed directly to their accommodation and await the results of the test, to be returned within 24 hours. A negative test will allow the visitor to travel freely within Phuket while a positive result will mean the visitor must be admitted to hospital.
Plt. Off. Thanee Chuangchoo, Director of Phuket Airport said, ‘We have reiterated our screening and containment measures to airlines, making sure they know passengers will need all necessary documentation from before departure. Those who arrive without all the documentation or who have failed any of our protocols will be denied entry to Phuket and the airline will be responsible for their care’.
Five flights are scheduled to land on the first day of the Phuket Sandbox, two services by Etihad Airways and one each by Israel Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways.
The Governor of Phuket, Narong Woonciew has given an assurance of the measures implemented at the airport as well as those for land and sea travel.
‘The measures seen at the airport are our standard border measures. We have elevated our land and sea measures accordingly to ensure we can effectively screen for COVID-19 whether among people or in cargo. We will make this crisis an opportunity and turn Phuket into a world-class tourist destination where people can visit with confidence and without concern for disease’.
With the cooperation of various agencies, Phuket International Airport is ready to serve as the frontline in welcoming foreign tourists and to reigniting Phuket’s economy. (NNT)
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