In a notice in Thai, the company announced on its Facebook page a dramatic reduction of its fleet services.
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) announced, “Due to the ongoing global outbreak of COVID-19, several countries in Europe and Asia have intensely increased preventive measures including screening by local Ministries of Public Health and Civil Aviation Organizations as well as national lockdown.
Therefore, THAI has prepared its plans and temporarily suspended its operations on the following flights:
1. Starting on 25 March 2020: Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo (Narita and Haneda), Osaka, Nagoya, Seoul, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Yangon, Singapore, Jakarta, Denpasar, Kunming, Xiamen, Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Karachi, Kathmandu, Lahore, Dhaka, Islamabad, and Colombo. For domestic flights to Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Krabi will be transferred and operated by THAI Smile.
2. Starting on 27 March 2020: Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth
3. Starting on 1 April 2020: THAI will cancel most of its flights to Europe which are London, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Oslo, Moscow and Stockholm
THAI previously suspended flights to Sendai, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Busan, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Milan, Vienna, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Muscat, Dubai, and Auckland.
To facilitate customers, THAI allows passengers holding THAI and THAI Smile code-share flights air tickets, issued before 25 March 2020 with the following date of travel, to convert unused tickets to one-year valid travel voucher without fee and surcharges:
- Asian Routes during 25 March – 31 May 2020
- European, Australian and New Zealand Routes during 1 April – 31 May 2020
Royal Orchid Plus (ROP) members holding award tickets issued to travel during 25 March – 31 May 2020 may fully re-credit mileages or change the travel date without any fee or charge with expired miles extended until 30 September 2020.
Passengers may check flight schedules and make changes to itineraries themselves on www.thaiairways.com website. For ticket adjustments or more information, ROP members can contact THAI Sales Offices or visit www.thaiairways.com/rop.
THAI still operates cargo service in some routes and will operate charter flight if there are stranded passengers or requested by government agencies concerned. The company will inform passengers accordingly if there is some flight adjustment.”