Up to 4,000 Russian tourists stranded on Phuket after flights suspended
Up to 4,000 Russian tourists are stranded in Phuket after two airlines – S7 and Aeroflot – announced they were suspending direct flights to the province from Russia.
Phuket Tourism Association president Bhummikitti Ruktaengam said the number of Russians arriving in Phuket will now drop.
S7 (Siberian Airlines) announced it was suspending its Phuket service from March 4, while Aeroflot followed suit on Tuesday.
"Russian tourists wanting to visit Phuket must now take connecting flights from Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul or Singapore via Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Turkish Airlines or Singapore Airlines," Bhummikitti explained.
Before the suspension, 70 per cent of Russian tourists took direct flights from Moscow or St Petersburg, with the rest booking connecting flights, he added.
The Cabinet on Tuesday will reportedly consider arranging repatriation flights to Russia as well as measures to support tourists who are running short of money in Thailand.
Bhummikitti said Russian tourists are facing payment difficulties after Visa and Mastercard blocked the use of Russian credit cards overseas.
He added that Thailand's opposition to cryptocurrency as a payment platform is also causing difficulties for Russians and Thai tourism operators.
"Even though the tourists are still able to use [China’s] UnionPay platform for payment, some of them are running out of money," he said.
He asked hotel operators in Phuket to identify tourists who are unable to return to their home country and take care of them as well as possible.
He added that the Phuket Tourism Association and Tourism Authority of Thailand are cooperating with the Russian consulate to implement guidelines to help tourists.