PHUKET: All of the Hong-Kong-bound passengers stranded on Phuket for up to three days should be airlifted out on two special relief flights to Bangkok today, according to a government official.
''We have an R Airlines aircraft set to carry them to Don Muang airport,'' the Phuket Director of the Ministry of Tourism & Sport, Santi Pawai, said.
There were two flights scheduled, one at 12.55pm and another at 5.25pm, he said.
''We believe arrangements for flying to Hong Kong have been made or are being made.''
More than 200 people whose City Airways flight originated in Hong Kong were stuck on Phuket when Thai officials declined to allow the airline to operate scheduled flights from the holiday island on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Alternative arrangements were made for those who were due out on Saturday but the four-day holiday weekend meant that most flights into and out of Phuket were fully booked until today.
Khun Santi said he did not know why City Airways had been prevented from picking up passengers, other than there was a deficiency in documentation.
City Airways is a small airline owned by a group of Thai, Chinese and Hong Kong investors.
The airline's first flight took place in October 2012, the start of a charter service between Hong Kong and Bangkok, using a 170-seat Boeing 737-400 aircraft. It now has five 737-400s.
Changes in regulations in Thailand recently have enabled more small airlines to win approval.
''We have an R Airlines aircraft set to carry them to Don Muang airport,'' the Phuket Director of the Ministry of Tourism & Sport, Santi Pawai, said.
There were two flights scheduled, one at 12.55pm and another at 5.25pm, he said.
''We believe arrangements for flying to Hong Kong have been made or are being made.''
More than 200 people whose City Airways flight originated in Hong Kong were stuck on Phuket when Thai officials declined to allow the airline to operate scheduled flights from the holiday island on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Alternative arrangements were made for those who were due out on Saturday but the four-day holiday weekend meant that most flights into and out of Phuket were fully booked until today.
Khun Santi said he did not know why City Airways had been prevented from picking up passengers, other than there was a deficiency in documentation.
City Airways is a small airline owned by a group of Thai, Chinese and Hong Kong investors.
The airline's first flight took place in October 2012, the start of a charter service between Hong Kong and Bangkok, using a 170-seat Boeing 737-400 aircraft. It now has five 737-400s.
Changes in regulations in Thailand recently have enabled more small airlines to win approval.
City Air is a Thai registered airline which has 4 737-400s in their fleet.
3 are active, one is in storage. The lease for a fifth was transferred to BlueAir in Romania 01 JUN 2014.
Current fleet is
HS-GTB 31 JAN 1989 25y
HS-GTD 18 JAN 1995 19y
HS-GTE 23 FEB 1993 21y
In storage
HS-GTA 06 JUN 1990 24y
For more details, you can check
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/City%20Airways.htm
I find it interesting to check the history of the aircraft an airline uses. Gives me an idea what kind of company it is.
Though some will probably find this very boring, I hope at least someone finds it useful too.
Posted by ThaiMike on August 13, 2014 10:32