The cabinet has given the green light to increase flights between Thailand and Russia. Government spokesman Maj Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the cabinet on Tuesday approved in principle the increase in flights under a Thai-Russian memorandum of understanding (MoU) on aviation, signed in July last year, proposed by the Transport Ministry.
Under the agreement, flights between Moscow and Bangkok will be increased to 70 a week, up from 42 flights now, while flights between St Petersburg and Phuket will increase to 28 flights per week from 14 flights. The route between Irkutsk and Chiang Mai will be changed to Novosibirsk and Krabi. Seven flights per week will be allowed for this route.
Maj Gen Sansern said the increase in flights will result in growth for the tourism industry.
Figures from the Tourism Department show the number of Russian tourists dropped last year to 884,000, down from 1.6 million in 2014, as a result of Russia's weakening economy.
Maj Gen Sansern said the talks on aviation between Thailand and Russia were aimed at tweaking the content of the agreement so it is in keeping with the two countries' aviation laws.
Regulations on Thai and Russian flag carriers will also be made more flexible.
The two countries will be able to hire aircraft from any companies certified by their airlines instead of from third countries with which they have an agreement on air services.
Even though some Thai carriers have cancelled their routes to Russia, the agreement enables other Thai airlines to step in, Maj Gen Sansern said. Thai Airways International ended services between Bangkok and Moscow last year as part of its restructuring, claiming the route was unprofitable.