Thailand issues new relaxed entry rules for airlines and passengers

The latest Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) comes after the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said the Thailand Pass entry system and mask mandate will be scrapped from July 1.

Entry requirements are being relaxed in a bid to boost foreign tourist arrivals in the second half of the year. Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn expects arrivals to rise from the current level of 20,000-25,000 per day to 25,000-30,000 per day.

The new guidelines are as follows:

• No Thailand Pass required to enter Kingdom
• Vaccinated passengers can enter without taking a Covid-19 test but should take a rapid antigen test if they develop symptoms.
• Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated passengers must have a negative rapid antigen or RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure.
• Airlines must check their passengers' vaccination and negative test result certificates. Passengers who do not have these certificates must follow disease control officers' instructions at immigration checkpoints.
• Airlines can submit health certificates for their crew to facilitate immigration procedures, but the documents can be checked by Thai disease control officers.

However, CAAT urged passengers to continue wearing face masks throughout their journey as aircraft cabins are confined spaces.