Direct flights from India to Phuket to start soon

PHUKET: Destination weddings and holidays in the resort island of Phuket in Thailand could become easier with the launch of direct flights to New Delhi and Mumbai by budget airlines THAI Smile beginning next month.

The sister airline of national carrier Thai Airways International will begin direct flights from Phuket to Mumbai on March 31, with flights to New Delhi to start on April 2.

THAI Smile will operate four return flights a week to both the destinations.

Announcing this at a reception organised for INS Sudarshini, Indian envoy to Thailand Anil Wadhwa said these "flights will lead to a marked increase in the number of Indian tourists coming here".

This bodes well, not only for India-Thailand relations but would also greatly benefit Phuket's economy, he added.

'INS Sudarshini', retracing the sea routes charted out by adventures traders in the 10th to 12th centuries linking India with Southeast Asia, docked at Phuket port here after calling on eight Asean countries over the last five months.

Phuket is one of the top most destinations for lakhs of tourists who vsiit Thailand every year.